Urban economies in the Spanish world - The cases of Madrid and Mexico City at the end of the eighteenth century

This article is a comparative study of the most important mercantile sectors in the Spanish world at the end of the eighteenth century, those of Madrid and Mexico City. This article will define and evaluate the structure of these two economic sectors by analyzing a number of aspects regarding their members' activities. First, the origin and nature of the merchandise they distributed will reveal whether urban demand was undermining or supporting the centers of production located in their geographical contexts (the Iberian Peninsula and New Spain). Finding where and how they marketed that merchandise will provide information about the relationships between these cities and other regional economies; it will also clarify their role in consolidating home markets. Finally, I will identify how they invested their capital and the rationale that determined their economic strategies. This will help us arrive at a more accurate characterization of the structure of the urban economy and allow us to reconsider the historiographical claims about the economic behavior of this urban social sector. To accomplish the proposed objectives, I have analyzed the information contained in notarial records. These documents include detailed inventories of merchants' goods, shops, and property; bills; payment agreements; designation of proxies; and wills. I have found and used information about more than one thousand merchants in Madrid and almost eight hundred in Mexico City.