In early modern Castile the Crown authority was played within the political arena having as a mirror the so-called economica (the art of the good government of the household). The king, a prudent father of his subjects, should punish and sometimes pardon the criminals in order to keep the political body balanced. The criminal punishment or pardon should be the end of every lawsuit. Seville in the times of Cervantes offered lots of occasions to develop judicial practices. This article explains how justice was developed within this framework and gives a picture of Ancient Régime justice quite different to the repressive justice depicted by Foucault in his Surveiller et punir.

This article studies the proceedings used by the Spanish public finances to deal with the unpaid taxes during the last decades of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. The connections between the concerned public institutions, and between these and the taxpayers, are analysed using the statements of tax collectors. The great amount of land seized by the State, as a consequence of unpaid taxes, are a sign of the changes that the Spanish rural areas were suffering. This phenomenon became a serious source of conflict and it made evident the important structural problems of the Restauration Administration.

Two scientists and sailors from the Spanish Navy, Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, the Italian sailor and explorer Alessandro Malaspina, and the German sage Alexander von Humboldt were the main actors in three great voyages to Spanish America between the second-third of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. This enabled them to provide three first hand «photographs» of the state of the Spanish empire in America at three different moments in time: approximately before, during and after the implementation of colonial reforms designed in the reigns of Ferdinand VI and Charles III. This work aims, in the first place, to compare the socio-economic views of Spanish America deriving from the three expeditions, highlighting similarities and differences. Second, this work aims to connect the analysis of the weaknesses of the politico-institutional organisation of Spanish colonies, which the four travellers did at first hand, with the present debate on the role of colonial institutions in long-term economic development.

This article aims to analyse the finances of the Coimbra city council from 1557 to 1836. Our objective is to examine the causes of long-term changes in municipal revenue and expenditure, particularly during the extended period of decline that occurred between the mid-17th century and the late 18th century. This study will focus on the composition of revenue and expenditure, as well as on revenue collection mechanisms. We aim to present the empirical data on the revenue and expenditure components that allow us to understand the changes that took place. Finally, we hope to be able to explain the causes that led to significant variations in revenue and expenditure in a dialogue with existing literature. The primary sources used correspond to municipal revenue and expenditure books, supplemented by other sources such as legislation, correspondence and auction books.

Cualquier referencia al comportamiento de los precios en la economía española, anterior a la Primera Guerra Mundial, pasa ineludiblemente por el índice de Sardà (1948) para 1812–1890, y desde entonces el que se recoge en el Dictamen de la Comisión del patrón oro. El índice de precios al por mayor de Bustelo y Tortella (1976) para este período es el resultado del enlace entre los dos anteriores. Por otra parte, algunos investigadores han preparado índices de precios basados en estadísticas oficiales de comercio. Así, por ejemplo, Leandro Prados elaboró un índice de precios para las exportaciones y otro para las importaciones a partir de las estadísticas del comercio exterior español y británico. Las estadísticas del comercio de cabotaje también han sido utilizadas para obtener información sobre la evolución de los precios correspondientes. Ninguno de ellos, sin embargo, informa satisfactoriamente sobre el comportamiento de los precios en el sector industrial de la economía española.

The aim of this work is to explain the increase of die Castillian supply of flour as a result of the changes in die commercial policy between 1820–1841. Since 1820 the gouvernments of Fernando VII approved new protective tariffs widi die purpose of excluding die consumption of foreing flour in die domestic and die Cuban markets. As a consequence, die number of flour milling factories working in Castille grew up. We have to distinguish between two kinds of mills set up close tho the Canal de Castilla: those with can be consdidered «factories» and those others whose work is near to the putting-out-system. Both plants were owned by a cartel formed by flour dealers from Santander who obtained considerable profits thanks to their privileged position in the market.

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.

A nadie se le escapa ya, hoy en día, la importancia que el análisis demográfico tiene para poder establecer los mecanismos de funcionamiento de toda sociedad en el pasado. Esta, y no otra, es la justificación de las líneas que siguen, en las que se intenta examinar los rasgos generales del censo de Floridablanca (1787) en una región, hasta hace poco, muy olvidada en los estudios históricos globales de la sociedad española del Antiguo Régimen.

Varios censos generales se elaboraron en Aragón en el siglo XVIII; de algunos sólo se conservan noticias o un resumen de los mismos; de otros, además, los datos primarios locales, que son los que permiten un estudio exhaustivo. Hay, además, operaciones censales de ámbito local o comarcal. Los conjuntos censales documentados son, hoy por hoy, cuatro: uno de principios de siglo (1713, 1717 y 1718); el censo de Aranda (1768); un vecindario, probablemente militar, dado a conocer por Tomás de Lezaún (1776), y el censo de Floridablanca (1787).

Con la excepción de Mulhall y Prados de la Escosura, no se han hecho estimaciones de la «Renta Terciaria» o renta del Sector Servicios para períodos anteriores a 1900. Para la primera mitad del siglo xx, aparte de la ya citada y recientísima de Prados, contamos tan sólo con dos estimaciones, que son parte de las conocidas series de Renta Nacional calculadas por el Consejo de Economía Nacional (CEN) y por Julio Alcaide Inchausti. Hace algún tiempo, con motivo de una larga investigación en equipo (el llamado «Proyecto Europeo», patrocinado por el Banco de España), tuve ocasión de examinar con algún detalle los trabajos donde se explica cómo se Ilevó a cabo la confección de estas dos series. El resultado de este examen fue la redacción de un informe acerca de los graves problemas de fiabilidad que planteaba el uso de estas estimaciones. El informe circuló entre los miembros del equipo, pero no tuvo ninguna publicidad. La presente nota es una versión abreviada y actualizada de aquel informe. Me han animado a publicarla, de un lado, los compañeros del equipo y, de otro, el deseo de poner en guardia a los colegas de los peligros que entranañ el depositar excesiva confianza en las tan citadas series.

In this paper we examine a proposal regarding the organization of the system of primary education in Chile submitted by then Deputy Manuel Montt. This project represented a long overdue initiative in support of the diffusion of education in Chile and a radical way of viewing its organization. To the extent that this project included considerations regarding the funding of this system, it also seems relevant to the organization of Chile's fiscal framework. Although Montt's proposal was ultimately discarded, the related discussions represent an interesting setting for fundamental debates regarding the foundation of the fiscal system of 19th century Chile.

La naturaleza metodológica de la Historia Económica como economía aplicada raramente se manifiesta tan evidente como en el campo de la Historia Económica de la empresa. Lo que para la Historia Económica general es un signo de identidad adquirido a lo largo de muchos años, para la Historia Económica de la empresa fue la razón misma de su aparición como disciplina independiente. Hace ya 65 años, la necesidad de ofrecer un campo de «experimentación» para las técnicas de dirección empresarial llevó a Wallace B. Donham, decano de la Escuela Graduada de Comercio de la Universidad de Harvard a establecer en 1927 la cátedra Straus de Historia Económica de la empresa con la idea de que, en sus propias palabras, una figura acádemica distinguida

se uniese al claustro de Harvard para ver si en su Escuela Graduada de Comercio fuese posible poner en marcha un programa de investigación y enseñanza en el campo de la Historia Económica general y de la empresa que estuviese tan íntimamente relacionado con los problemas reales del hombre de empresa que llegase a ser una auténtica contributión social.

In spite of the limitations of the data, the estimation of a Cuban price index for 1872–1897 offers an acceptable result, is an important contribution to its economic history and offers some replies for the controversial issue of its independence. These prices suffered a deflation process similar to the other countries and which took place much at the same time as in the US (economy to which the island was already very linked to). However, after the 1883 crisis, prices started to decrease at a much lower rate than those of sugar, causing economic losses that, given the importante of this product, can be a good approach to what indicators such as the income rate —there are not income estimations— could show. Opposite to other studies, our research has got a complementary character. It points out die necessity of enlarging the spectre of analysis of issues such as the tariff policy or the protection of Cuban market for Spanish goods, since evidence proves that the international economic system development in the 1880's and 1890's was the main economic reason for die Island's independence.

Campomanes' economic ideas can not be adequately understood only in terms of the economic thought prevailing in 18th century Europe; it is also necessary to consider his origins, life and professional progress. As a general attorney —and, later, as governor— of the Council of Castile, the Asturian gentleman was perfectly fitted in the social and political system of the Old Regime. He attempted to introduce in the Spanish economy the elements of market rationality that the system could accept, but he did not go beyond.

Campomanes was neither a mercantilist nor a physiocratic economist. He thought necessary to promote both agriculture and manufacture and he was always worried with social problems. Campomanes fought to stabilize tenant-farmers on the land and to extend technical education among people; he tried to promote free markets against official prices, controls, privileges and monopolies; and he supported the creation of a public bank in the hope that it would help to movilise savings and to foster production.

The main aim of the article is to analyse the introduction of keynesianism into Spain through the Manuel de Torres' works, the most active proponent of the new doctrine during the forties and fifties. The article focus on the adaptation to the Spanish context of the Keynes's ideas by Manuel de Torres. In particular, Keynesianism contributed to replace the agrarian ideas defended by Torres in the thirties by a new interest in industrial development during the 40's and 50's. Thus, the article provides an explanation of Torres' doctrinal evolution and vindicates the role played by the economic ideas as an instrument of transformation. These ideas contributed to change the Torres perception of the Spanish economic reality.

This article analyses the biological welfare and inequality of the male population of the irrigated area of Valencia between 1859 and 1939. It studies the effects that the agrarian development process had on physical welfare and the relationship between height and access to land ownership. Height data for conscripts in five municipalities constitute the source for the study. The results reveal that there was a growing trend in the evolution of heights in the irrigated area of Valencia at the beginning of agrarian capitalism. Nutritional inequalities can be observed between farmers and farm workers: land owners were taller than landless labourers. However, this biological inequality diminished over the period under study.

The purpose of this paper is to determine trends in the wages and living standards of male agricultural labourers in Central Chile during the agrarian expansion, c. 1870-1930. We found that nominal wages increased eightfold; this is relevant because wage labour became the main rural labour regime in this period. Nominal wages rose steadily from the early 1870s until 1910, and with significant fluctuations thereafter, before plummeting with the Great Depression. Real wages also increased, but only slightly. Furthermore, during certain short periods, agricultural labourers' real wages were similar to or higher than those of low-skilled urban workers. However, the persistent gap between agricultural and non-agricultural wages was one of the causal factors of the outmigration of rural workers.