Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 April 2010
During Miguel de Cervantes' lifetime, the Mediterranean World was suffering a transformation in the internal distribution of power, both political and economic. Although the Ottoman fleet was defeated, which established the limits of dominance between the two empires, this did not prevent the entry in this space of the new commercial powers from northern Europe, which changed the trade in the Mediterranean. This article tries to provide a synthesis of this process, of which Cervantes was a direct witness both in his personal life and through the works which have survived to our time.
Durante la vida de Miguel de Cervantes, el mundo mediterráneo va a sufrir una transformación en cuanto al reparto de poder, tanto político como económico. Aunque se produce una victoria militar sobre la flota otomana, que establece los límites del dominio de ambos imperios, no se puede impedir la entrada en este espacio de las nuevas potencias comerciales del norte de Europa, que van a transformar el comercio en el Mediterráneo. En este artículo se intenta fijar una síntesis de este proceso del que Cervantes es testigo directo, tanto en su trayectoria personal como en las obras que nos ha legado.