An early consumer revolution in Hispanic America?consumption of Asian goods by the commoners in 18th-century Mexico

  1. Rafael Dobado 1
  2. Nadia Fernández De Pinedo 2
  1. 1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Complutense de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR 02p0gd045

  2. 2 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
    info

    Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

    Madrid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/01cby8j38

Revue:
Revista de Historia Económica = Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History

ISSN: 0212-6109

Année de publication: 2023

Año: 41

Número: 3

Pages: 449-482

Type: Article

DOI: 10.1017/S0212610923000046 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAccès ouvert editor

D'autres publications dans: Revista de Historia Económica = Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History

Objectifs de Développement Durable

Résumé

Was there an early consumer revolution in Hispanic America? This article presents varied evidence supporting an affirmative answer to this question, especially regarding the case of New Spain. The inauguration of the Manilla Galleon trade route across the Pacific Ocean in 1565 was decisive in this respect. It made it possible that Asian goods (more or less finished silk and cotton textiles, porcelain, lacquerware, ivory religious images, furniture and spices, mainly) experienced an early diffusion throughout New Spain after arriving in Acapulco. This innovation in consumption patterns was adopted first by the elites, not much later, by the intermediate classes and, rather soon than not, by the commoners. Primary (i.e. Avalúos of the galleons’ cargo) and secondary sources permit quantitatively exploring the possibilities of consumption of Asian goods by unprivileged segments of New Spain’s population. We find that a non-negligible number of those goods were accessible to Mexico City labourers. Thus, it may be inferred that upper segments of society accessed it earlier and more easily. Therefore, New Spain should be included in any global narrative of the changes in consumption during the Early Modern Era.

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