Why did London become the main money market? Monetary Policy, Arbitrage and European Money Market Integration in 18th century

How did the leading capital market start to attract international bullion? Why did London become the main money market? Monetary regulations, including the charges for minting money and the restrictions on bullion exchange, have played the key role in defining the direction of the flow of international bullion. Countries that abolished minting charges and permitted the free movement of bullion were able to attract international bullion, and countries that applied minting taxes suffered an outflow of bullion. In these cases monetary authorities tried to limit bullion movement through prohibitions on domestic bullion exchange at a free price, and tariffs and quantitative restrictions on bullion exports. The paper illustrates the logic of international monetary flow in the 18th century, using empirical evidence for England, France and Spain. The first section defines and measures monetary policy, and the second section introduces minting charges into the arbitrage equation in order to explain the logic of bullion flow between the pairs of nations England-France, England-Spain and France-Spain. The conclusion emphasises the importance of monetary policy in the creation of leading money markets.

Chemical characterization of majolica from 14th-18th century production centers on the Iberian Peninsula: a preliminary neutron activation study

Majolica pottery is one of the most characteristic tableware produced during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Majolica technology was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by Islamic artisans during Medieval times, and its production and popularity rapidly spread throughout Spain and eventually to other locations in Europe and the Americas. The prestige and importance of Spanish majolica was very high. Consequently, this ware was imported profusely to the Americas during the Spanish Colonial period. Nowadays, Majolica pottery serves as an important horizon marker at Spanish colonial sites. A preliminary study of Spanish-produced majolica was conducted on a set of 246 samples from the 12 primary majolica production centers on the Iberian Peninsula. The samples were analyzed by neutron activation analysis (NAA), and the resulting data were interpreted using an array of multivariate statistical procedures. Our results show a clear discrimination between different production centers. In some cases, our data allow one to distinguish amongst shards coming from the same production location suggesting different workshops or group of workshops were responsible for production of this pre-industrial pottery.

Una casa, una història: patrimoni arquitectònic i humà d'una casa de la Selva del Camp

Treball de recerca realitzat per una alumna d'ensenyament secundari i guardonat amb un Premi CIRIT per fomentar l'esperit científic del Jovent l'any 2009. El treball té com a objecte de recerca un habitatge del municipi de la Selva del Camp. Aquest, es centra tant en els aspectes artístics i decoratius, com en l’anàlisi de l’evolució patrimonial i l’ús social de l’edifici entre els segles XVIII-XX. En la recerca s’ha analitzat, per una banda, el procés de transformació de l’edifici des de l’any 1749 i els elements artístics que encara s’hi conserven com pintures neoclàssiques, treballs de ferro forjat, etc., els quals fan que sigui una de les cases més emblemàtiques del Carrer Major de la Selva. D’altra banda, s’ha indagat en les diferents generacions que, des de mitjan segle XVIII, n’han tingut la propietat i el paper que aquestes famílies han jugat dins la societat selvatana. La casa, en aquests anys, ha pertanyut a dues famílies i al Sindicat Agrícola. La primera, els Fortuny, terratinents i amb càrrecs al govern municipal; l'altra, els Carnicer, comerciants d'avellanes dels quals jo en sóc descendent. De 1910 a 1920 la casa fou al seu del Sindicat Agrícola i a partir de textos de Puig i Ferreter s’ha pogut descriure l’ambient que s'hi vivia i les activitats que s’hi duien a terme. Alhora, el fet d’analitzar les diferents funcions que l’edifici ha tingut al llarg d’aquests anys (residència familiar, corredoria de comerç, premsa d’oli, seu del Centre Republicà o del Sindicat Agrícola) ha permès explicar la història de la vila de la Selva a partir de la d’aquest edifici.

L'ensenyament universitari del segle XXI : més enllà del paper

Durant les últimes dècades, en un context en què impera la influència de les TIC, el model de l'ensenyament universitari ha canviat radicalment. Paral·lelament, els rols de l'estudiant i del professor també s'han vist modificats: l'estudiant ha deixat de ser un lector passiu per convertir-se en un lector que participa activament en el procés d'aprenentatge, aportant material complementari i en diferents suports a la informació que li arriba. Neix, així, el concepte de lectura augmentada. La Universitat Oberta de Catalunya és un exemple de la tendència de futur de l'ensenyament universitari, en què l'estudiant pren les regnes de l'aprenentatge i les institucions educatives s'adapten a les noves necessitats de l'usuari afavorint la flexibilitat, la mobilitat i les eines tecnològiques imprescindibles per a aquest nou model d'ensenyament.

The Sustainable Debts of Philip II: A Reconstruction of Spain's Fiscal Position, 1560-1598

The defaults of Philip II have attained mythical status as the origin of sovereign debt crises. Four times during his reign the king failed to honor his debts and had to renegotiate borrowing contracts. In this paper, we reassess the fiscal position of Habsburg Spain. New archival evidence allows us to derive comprehensive estimates of debt and revenue. These show that primary surpluses were sufficient to make the king's debt sustainable in most scenarios. Spain's debt burden was manageable up to the 1580s, and its fiscal position only deteriorated for good after the defeat of the "Invincible Armada." We also estimate fiscal policy reaction functions, and show that Spain under the Habsburgs was at least as "responsible" as the US in the 20th century or as Britain in the 18th century. Our results suggest that the outcome of uncertain events such as wars may influence on a history of default more than strict adherence to fiscal rules.

The Speed of the Financial Revolution: Evidence from Hoare’s Bank

Finance is important for development, yet the onset of modern economic growth in Britain lagged the British financial revolution by over a century. We present evidence from a new West-End London private bank to explain this delay. Hoare’s Bank loaned primarily to a highly select and well-born clientele, although it did not discriminate against “unknown” borrowers in the early 18th century. It could not extend credit more generally because of government restrictions (usury limits) and policies (frequent wars). Britain’s financial development could have aided growth substantially, had it not been for the rigidities and turmoil introduced by government interference.

Sweet diversity: Colonial goods and the rise of European living standards after 1492

When did overseas trade start to matter for living standards? Traditional real-wage indices suggest that living standards in Europe stagnated before 1800. In this paper, we argue thatwelfare rose substantially, but surreptitiously, because of an influx of new goods as a result ofoverseas trade. Colonial luxuries such as tea, coffee, and sugar transformed European diets afterthe discovery of America and the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope. These goods became household items in many countries by the end of the 18th century. We use three different methodsto calculate welfare gains based on price data and the rate of adoption of these new colonialgoods. Our results suggest that by 1800, the average Englishman would have been willing to forego 10% or more of his income in order to maintain access to sugar and tea alone. These findings are robust to a wide range of alternative assumptions, data series, and valuation methods.

¿Activos desde cuándo? la edad de acceso al mercado de trabajo en la España del siglo XVIII

Este trabajo trata sobre la edad a la que niños y niñas accedían al trabajo remunerado en la España del siglo XVIII. Utilizando como fuente los Memoriales del Catastro de Ensenada (1751-1753), se propone la edad de diez años como edad media de acceso, a partir de la cual se puede calcular la tasa de actividad. La Mancha era una región rica en industria rural, sobre todo de manufacturas textiles, que abastecían al mercado madrileño, el de otras ciudades e incluso al colonial, y que generaban una fuerte demanda de trabajo femenino. Esta estructura productiva explica por qué las niñas se incorporaban al trabajo remunerado antes que los niños, por qué eran escolarizadas desde muy pequeñas en las ‘escuelas de labor’ y no en las escuelas de primeras letras como los niños, y por qué, en definitiva, sus tasas de alfabetización un siglo después eran inferiores a la ya muy baja media femenina española. En la España del siglo XVIII mujeres y niñas estaban masivamente empleadas en las manufacturas, sobre todo textiles, como ocurría en gran parte de Europa. Entender y contabilizar el trabajo realizado por mujeres y niñas, mucho más difundido de lo que se cree habitualmente, y centrado en manufacturas y servicios, transforma nuestra visión de la estructura de la actividad en la España pre-industrial, normalmente identificada con el trabajo agrícola y ganadero.

How the West "invented" fertility restriction

We analyze the rise of the first socio-economic institution in history that limited fertility ? long before theDemographic Transition. The "European Marriage Pattern" (EMP) raised the marriage age of women andensured that many remained celibate, thereby reducing childbirths by up to one third between the 14thand 18th century. To explain the rise of EMP we build a two-sector model of agricultural production ?grain and livestock. Women have a comparative advantage in the latter because plow agriculture requiresphysical strength. After the Black Death in 1348-50, land abundance triggered a shift towards the landintensivepastoral sector, improving female employment prospects. Because women working in animalhusbandry had to remain unmarried, more farm service spelled later marriages. The resulting reductionin fertility led to a new Malthusian steady state with lower population pressure and higher wages. Themodel can thus help to explain the divergence in income per capita between Europe and Asia long beforethe Industrial Revolution. Using detailed data from England after 1290, we provide strong evidence forour mechanism. Where pastoral agriculture dominated, more women worked as servants, and marriageoccurred markedly later. Overall, we estimate that pastoral farming raised female ages at first marriage bymore than 4 years.

Una pintura d'Antoni Viladomat i Manalt (1678-1755) a Manresa : l'Assumpta de Santa Maria de l'Alba

This painting with an exceptional iconography of the Assumption of the Virgin with All the Saints, was saved from a altarpiece in the church of Santa Maria de l'Alba in Manresa, which was burnt during the Spanish Civil War. The article attributes this painting to Antoni Viladomat i Manalt (1678-1755), one of the most relevant figures in the Catalan artistic scene in the 18th century, and it dates it to the latter years of his extensive artistic career. An analysis of the work shows that the Catalan painter incorporated some figurative elements that he borrowed from an engraving of the Swiss engraver, Jakob Frey (1681-1752), interpreted from a canvas of the Italian painter Sebastiano Conca (1680-1764). This helps to relate the canvas of the Barcelona painter-based on his previous figurative work with high Roman baroque- to the new proposals of the so-called Roman barrochetto. In addition the study hopes to offer the reader an artistically cultural view of Antoni Viladomat, openly concerned by the novelties that constantly reached Catalonia by means of the engravings

"Sobre tenir lo Studi de Lleyda en Tortosa"

The lower medieval Catalan model of the estudi general (university) exemplified by the case of Lleida emphasises the weight achieved by the students as a body, the jurisdictional conflicts and, especially, the serious economic difficulties, that poisoned the relations with the poorly paid teaching staff and made the centre impossible to run. In that sense, the monarchy’s incapacity to provide the jurisdictional and financial bases, pushed higher education under a growing ecclesiastical weight snd municipal dependence. The local government, for its part, would have to increase the means of taxation needed to produce the necessary financing. All together, this generated difficulties that would burden the estudis generals throughout the lower Middle ages and into modern centuries, until their closure in the 18th century.

Gurruminos, petimetres, abates y currutacos en el teatro breve del siglo XVIII

El estudio de ciertos modelos negativos del teatro breve del siglo XVIII revela no sólo la continuidad cómica de los tipos, sino también su relación con los ideales de conducta coetáneos: la autoridad del marido, la discreción de la mujer, el cuidado de la economía familiar... Los sainetes se unen a otros géneros literarios (el periodismo, la poesía satírica y el ensayo de carácter moral) en la ridiculización de quienes practican el cortejo y aplauden nuevas formas de sociabilidad, las modas y los bailes extranjeros, etc. frente a la conducta y los gustos tradicionales. Ejemplos tomados de Antonio de Zamora, Agramont, Ramón de la Cruz, Vázquez y González del Castillo sirven para argumentar tales reticencias ante el cambio de mentalidades de una nueva cultura del ocio, así como para observarlo a contrario: su “afeminación”, su frivolidad y su inutilidad.

Els germans Petrides a Barcelona : dos trompistes bohemis al Teatre de la Santa Creu (1794-1798)

Aquest treball documenta l’estada a Barcelona, entre el 1794 i 1798, dels germans Joseph i Peter Petrides, trompistes nascuts a Praga. L’excepcional trajectòria d’ambdós a la capital catalana, com a membres de l’orquestra del Teatre de la Santa Creu i com a solistes destacats, il·lustra el desenvolupament de l’ofici de músic a la ciutat durant l’última dècada del segle XVIII.

L'evolució dels estudis per a piano : del taller al gran repertori de concert

Aquest projecte final proposa un recorregut per l'evolució dels estudis per a piano des de la segona meitat del segle XVIII fins a l'inici del segle XX. El treball està format per tres capítols de recerca històrica i un d'anàlisi de les obres del recital que acompanya la part escrita. Aquestes peces han estat analitzades a partir dels coneixements adquirits en la recerca. Per tant, a través del treball escrit es contextualitza i justifica la selecció de les obres del concert.