Comunicação e prática política nas monarquias ibéricas de antigo regime (1700-1750): Évora, Córdova, Ouro Preto e Quito

O presente estudo trata da prática política nos diferentes espaços das monarquias ibéricas na primeira metade do século XVIII. Tendo como objecto de análise principal a correspondência de quatro municípios seleccionados como observatórios (Évora, Córdova, Ouro Preto e Quito), pretende-se conhecer com maior detalhe as variações desta mesma prática em função dos contextos. Partindo da ideia de que o modelo político-administrativo implementado na América seria, na essência, decalcado do peninsular, procura-se aqui entender as mutações resultantes desta transferência. Ao longo deste trabalho defender-se-á a ideia de que, apesar das semelhanças entre o aparelho burocrático metropolitano e americano, a prática política nos territórios extra-europeus revestia-se de um conjunto de especificidades que a diferenciavam de forma clara. Neste sentido, argumenta-se que estas mutações condicionavam igualmente quais seriam os interlocutores das coroas nas diferentes regiões. Ou seja, que uma mesma instância teria, nos territórios ultramarinos e peninsulares, graus de participação nos processos de negociação e articulação política consideravelmente diferentes, algo que de que os municípios são um bom exemplo. Para o efeito serão comparados aspectos como os ritmos da comunicação; o relevo de cada instância na comunicação com a coroa; o perfil dos indivíduos que, nos diferentes territórios, ocupavam os ofícios da malha administrativa; as dinâmicas de especialização de competências ou de concentração de funções num mesmo cargo; a conflitualidade institucional e a existência de iniciativas políticas de cariz supramunicipal; Abstract: This study deals with the political practice in different areas of the Iberian monarchies in the first half of the eighteenth century. The main object of study is the correspondence of four selected municipalities (Évora, Cordoba, Ouro Preto and Quito), and it aims to know in greater detail the variations of this same practice on different contexts. Starting from the idea that the political and administrative model implemented in America would, in essence, be modeled on the peninsular, the intent is to understand the changes resulting from this transfer. Throughout this work we will argue that, despite the similarities between the metropolitan and American bureaucracy, political practice in non-European territories possessed a set of characteristics that were very specific. In this sense, it is argued that these mutations would also determine which would be the interlocutors of the crowns in different regions. That is, if the same instance would, in the overseas and peninsular territories, have different levels of participation in the negotiation and in the political articulation processes, something that municipalities are a good example of. For this purpose, aspects such as the rhythms of communication; the importance of each instance in the correspondence with the crown; the profile of the individuals who, in different territories, occupied the offices of the administrative network; the dynamics of specialization or concentration of functions in the same position; the institutional conflicts and the existence of supramunicipal initiatives will be compared.

Early Modern Trading Networks in Europe. Cooperation and the case of Simon Ruiz.

In the early modern period, trade became a truly global phenomenon. The logistics, financial and organizational complexity associated with it increased in order to connect distant geographies and merchants from different backgrounds. How did these merchants prevent their partners from dishonesty in a time where formal institutions and legislation did not traverse these different worlds? This book studies the mechanisms and criteria of cooperation in early modern trading networks. It uses an interdisciplinary approach, through the case study of a Castilian long-distance merchant of the sixteenth century, Simon Ruiz, who traded within the limits of the Portuguese and Spanish overseas empires. Early Modern Trading Networks in Europe discusses the importance of reciprocity mechanisms, trust and reputation in the context of early modern business relations, using network analysis methodology, combining quantitative data with qualitative information. It considers how cooperation and prevention could simultaneously create a business relationship, and describes the mechanisms of control, policing and punishment used to avoid opportunism and deception among a group of business partners. Using bills of exchange and correspondence from Simon Ruiz’s private archive, it charts the evolution of this business network through time, debating which criteria should be included or excluded from business networks, as well as the emergence of standards. This book intends to put forward a new approach to early modern trade which focuses on individuals interacting in self-organized structures, rather than on states or empires. It shows how indirect reciprocity was much more frequent than direct reciprocity among early modern merchants and how informal norms, like ostracism or signaling, helped to prevent defection and deception in an effective way.

The Evolution of Norms in Trade and Financial Networks in the First Global Age: the case of Simon Ruiz's network

In the 16th century, merchants and bankers gained a social influence and political relevance, due to their capacity of ‘faire travailler l’argent des autres’ (Benassar 1972:50). For the success of their activity, they built evolving networks with cooperative partners. These networks were much more than the sum of all partners. In the case study of the Castilian merchant Simon Ruiz, the network functioned in an unique way and independent from any formal institutional control. Its functioning varied in how different partners were associated and the particular characteristics and contents of these social ties. Being a self-organized network, since the formal institutions of trade regulation and the Crown control didn’t influence the network functioning, the Simon Ruiz network was deeply embedded in the economic and financial performance of the Hispanic Empires, in two different ways. The first, purely commercial. The monopolistic regime which was applied by the two crowns in the trade of certain colonial goods was insufficient to the costs of imperial maintenance. In such manner, particulars tried to rent a contract of exploration of trade, paying an annual sum to the crown, as in the Portuguese trade. Some of these agents also moved along Simon Ruiz’s network. But others were involved in relations with the imperial crowns on a second way, the finance. Maintaining Empires implied a lot of human, technical but also financial means, and most of the times Kings were forced to recur to these merchants, as we will demonstrate. What were the implications of these collaborative relations in both parts? The main goal of this paper is to comprehend the evolution of informal norms within Simon Ruiz’s network and how they influenced cooperative behavior of the agents, particularly analyzing mechanisms of sanctioning, control, punishment and reward, as well as their consequences in different dimensions: future interactions, social repercussions and in agent’s economic health and activity. The research is based in the bills of exchange and commercial correspondence of the private archive of Simon Ruiz, located in the Provincial Archive of Valladollid, Spain.