El mercado de embarcaciones de segunda mano en la Carrera de Indias (1778-1797): navegar sin botar
- Autores: Marina Alfonso Mola
- Localización: Jahrbuch für Geschichte Lateinamerikas = Anuario de Historia de América Latina ( JbLA ), ISSN-e 2194-3680, Nº. 34, 1997, págs. 127-157
- Idioma: español
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
- Dialnet Métricas: 1 Cita
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Resumen
The reformist policy of the Bourbon dinasty embraced also the merchant fleet (though not so strongly as in the case of the war fleet, the Armada).The measures leading to its development aimed at three basic goals: growth, modernization, and nationalisation. This study, that deals basically with the Colonial fleet in the years of consolidation and heyday of the 'Free Trade' system after the publication of the Reglamento (12 October 1778), tries to prove that the Crown had to sacrifice the nationalisation in favour of the growth and the modernization of the fleet. The records related to the authorization of the ships (Archivo General de Indias: Consulados) show that the shipowners together with the government chose the purchase of second-hand vessels to build up a merchant fleet that was apt (in tonnage and type) to the new commercial needs that privileged the speed in the transport over a speculative trade lying on the goods shortage. The liveliness of the second-hand ships market (above all in Cádiz, but also in other Spanish or Spanish American ports and in other European and American harbours) allowed the purchase of the required vessels. But, on the other hand, the goal of strenghtening in this way the Colonial fleet was a handicap to the development of Spanish shipbuilding in the terms foreseen by the reformist policy.
