Two distinctive regimes are distinguished in Spain over half-a-millennium. A first one (1270s-1590s) corresponds to a high land-labour ratio frontier economy, pastoral, trade-oriented, and led by towns. Wages and food consumption were relatively high. Sustained per capita growth occurred from the Reconquest’s end (1264) to the Black Death (1340s) and resumed from the 1390s only broken by late-15th century turmoil. A second regime (1600s-1810s) corresponds to a more agricultural and densely populated low-wage economy which grew along a lower path. Contrary to preindustrial Western Europe, Spain achieved her highest living standards in the 1340s, not by mid-15th century. Although its population toll was lower, the Plague had a more damaging impact on Spain and, far from releasing non-existent demographic pressure, destroyed the equilibrium between scarce population and abundant resources. Pre-1350 per capita income was reached by the late 16th century but only overcome after 1820.

The rise and fall of Spain (1270-1850)

Offers a leading analysis of the expansion of the Iberian empire expansion and the impact of early globalization on the Peninsula. Offers a comparative perspective on the impact of globalization on institutional development, the political economy, and processes of state-building in Europe. Contests a prevalent, excessively-negative image of the Iberian empire, counterpoising the difficult relationship between empires and globalization and opening the debate for comparisons to other imperial formations.

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Iberian world empires and the globalization of europe 1415–1668

Two distinctive regimes are distinguished in Spain over half a millennium. The first one (1270s–1590s) corresponds to a high land–labour ratio frontier economy, which is pastoral, trade-oriented, and led by towns. Wages and food consumption were relatively high. Sustained per capita growth occurred from the end of the Reconquest (1264) to the Black Death (1340s) and resumed from the 1390s only broken by late fifteenth-century turmoil. A second regime (1600s–1810s) corresponds to a more agricultural and densely populated low-wage economy which, although it grew at a pace similar to that of 1270–1600, remained at a lower level. Contrary to pre-industrial western Europe, Spain achieved its highest living standards in the 1340s, not by mid-fifteenth century. Although its death toll was lower, the plague had a more damaging impact on Spain and, far from releasing non-existent demographic pressure, destroyed the equilibrium between scarce population and abundant resources. Pre-1350 per capita income was reached by the late sixteenth century but only exceeded after 1820.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/ehr656.pdf?abstractid=2191389&mirid=1&type=2

The rise and fall of Spain (1270–1850)†

The Rise of the Fiscal State in Europe, c. 1200–1815: Bonney, Richard, ed.: Oxford: Oxford University Press, 527 pp., Publication Date: December 1999

The present bibliography is a continuation of and a complement to those published in the Urban History Yearbook 1974–91 and Urban History from 1992. The arrangement and format closely follows that of previous years. The list of abbreviations identifies only those periodicals from which articles cited this year have been taken, though many other journals are also checked.

Bibliography of urban history 2015

RESUMEN: El examen de las relaciones de rentas compiladas por los ministros de hacienda en momentos de crisis o dificultades financieras ofrece una buena imagen de la estructura y valor de los ingresos de la Corona de Castilla desde finales del siglo XVI y a lo largo del XVII. Gracias a estos documentos es posible medir el aumento de la carga tributaria durante la escalada fiscal del reinado de Felipe IV y la importancia de las medidas de alivio aprobadas en el de Carlos II, asi como el peso de los ingresos estrictamente fiscales respecto a los extraordinarios. El articulo se detiene asimismo en el analisis de la evolucion de la carga tributaria en terminos «reales» planteando algunas de sus repercusiones sobre la economia y la poblacion de Castilla. ABSTRACT: The study of a group of fiscal relations compiled by royal ministers in some moments of the XVIth and XVIIth centuries offers an accurate view of both the amount and the structure of the fiscal revenues collected by the Castilian Crown from 1577 to 1688. These documentary sources have allowed us to measure the increase of the tax burden during the reign of Philip IV and the importance of the measures subsequently adopted during the reign of Charles II to lighten such burden. Simultaneously, our sources have also allowed us to compare the amount and the evolution of the ordinary taxes collected by the Crown to that of the extraordinary incomes. To finish, our paper deals with the evolution of tax burden in real terms and its consequences on the Castilian economy and population.

/pdf/estructura-y-evolucion-de-los-ingresos-de-la-real-hacienda-1pjecac5cg.pdf

Estructura y Evolución de los ingresos de la Real Hacienda de Castilla en el siglo XVII

El texto completo del articulo en el que se han utilizado estos datos se ha publicado en la revista Economic History Review 67.3 (2014): 607-626 y esta disponbile en http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0289.12047

Prices and real wages in seventeenth-century Madrid

espanolEl articulo analiza la evolucion de los precios y salarios reales en los oficios de la construccion en una de las principales ciudades manufactureras de la Castilla Moderna, Segovia, entre 1571 y 1807. La segunda parte analiza los salarios nominales obtenidos por los oficiales y peones de albanil de la ciudad, mientras que la tercera presenta al indice de precios de Segovia entre 1571 y 1807. Por ultimo, la cuarta parte analiza la evolucion de los salarios reales en los oficios de la construccion de la ciudad. Estos evolucionaron en linea con la economia local: despues de culminar en el primer cuarto del siglo XVII experimentaron un declive continuado, de forma que en 1807 los salarios reales de los oficiales y peones de albanil segovianos apenas llegaban a un 50 por cien de los salarios reales del primer cuarto del siglo XVII. EnglishThis paper deals with the evolution of wages in the construction offices of Segovia, one of the most important Castilian and Spanish manufacturing towns, between 1571 and 1807. Part two deals with the nominal wages earned by the building officials and labourers of the city and part three presents the Segovian prices index between 1571 and 1807. Finally, part four analyses the evolution of the real wages earned in the construction offices of the town. Segovian real wages evolved in line with the local economy; after peaking in the first quarter of the 17th century, they experienced a continuous decline, so in 1807 the real wages of Segovian building officials and labourers were 50 per cent of those of the first quarter of the 17th century.

Prices and wages in Segovia, 1571–1807

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Fiscalidad real y fiscalidad municipal en Castilla durante el siglo XVII: el caso de Madrid

This article deals with the relations between taxation and prices levels in seventeenth century Castile through an analysis of the influence of royal and municipal taxes on the retail prices of cheap wine in Madrid between 1606 and 1700. First part describes the taxes levied on cheap wine by the Castilian Crown and the town council in Madrid. Both kinds of taxes provided the Royal and the City Treasuries with the most important part of their tax revenues. Second part analyzes how the Royal and the city authorities estimated the monetary value of the taxes and excises levied on this beverage. Lastly, third part shows that the burden of the royal and municipal taxes levied on a litre of cheap wine rose during the period. If in 1606-10 both types of taxes amounted to around 30 per cent of the retail prices of a litre of cheap wine, in the last third of the century this percentage had risen to 60-65 per cent.

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José Ignacio Andrés Ucendo

Papers

Estructura y Evolución de los ingresos de la Real Hacienda de Castilla en el siglo XVII

Prices and real wages in seventeenth-century Madrid

Prices and wages in Segovia, 1571–1807

Fiscalidad real y fiscalidad municipal en Castilla durante el siglo XVII: el caso de Madrid

Fiscalidad y precios en Castilla en el siglo xvii: los precios del vino en Madrid, 1606-1700