The similarities and differences between the process of commercial operation of spain in latin america and of some other western european countries

HNUE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE DOI: 10.18173/2354-1067.2017-0027 Social Sci., 2017, Vol. 62, Iss. 5, pp. 10-15 This paper is available online at THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE PROCESS OF COMMERCIAL OPERATION OF SPAIN IN LATIN AMERICA AND OF SOME OTHERWESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Pham Thi Thanh Huyen Faculty of History, Hanoi National University of Education Abstract. After geographical discoveries was the era of establishing and exploiting colonies of Western Europe, such as Spain, Portugal, a little later was Netherlands, England and France. The process of trading of these countries in the colony had many similarities and differences. By comparing the similarities and differences between Spain’s commercial activities in Latin America and of some other Western European countries, it is possible to draw out some of the differences of colonial empires in two stages, when colonialism was formed and when colonialism developed. Keywords: Commerce, Spain, Latin America, Western. 1. Introduction In addition to expand the range of conquest and rule over lands in Central and South America, Spanish colonialism established the world’s most powerful empire in the sixteenth century. Spain dominated the economic and political life of Western Europe during the sixteenth century [2, 5]. The colonial monopoly policy created the basis for promoting economic development, thereby strengthened the Spanish monarchy. However, the preservation of a prolonged, proprietary trading system created barriers to the Spanish economy. The style "non-capitalist" of using the colonial profits of feudalist aristocracy was one of the majors caused of the "Bleeding gold and silver" of the economy of Spain. Thus, while other Western European countries such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands received a lot of money and gold from trading with Spanish-Portuguese colonialists, they used it to invest in production in order to win the market for foreign trade, the Spanish Empire quickly fell into exhaustion and collapsed [3, 4]. Received date: 7/1/2017. Published date: 15/5/2017. Contact: Pham Thi Thanh Huyen, e-mail: thanhhuyensp.08@gmail.com 10 The similarities and differences between the process of commercial operation of Spain... 2. Content 2.1. Similarities between Spanish commercial activities in Latin America and of other Western European countries Firstly, European colonial states considered colonial commerce a long-term and important measure to bring the power to the national economy. During the first expansion period, both Spanish and Portuguese looted. They made the robbery on sea become a legitimate phenomenon, found gold everywhere and pillaged by the most violent way. However, directly plundering still did not satisfy the lucrative of Portugal and Spain for colonial areas. So, right from Columbus period, the Spaniards began trading with Indians in the New World by selling them some jewelery, futile things to the Indians, and used the trade as a means to plunder wealth. Spanish goods are forcibly distributed at high prices to native people with the intervention of judges, so Spaniards could make a profit of between 100% and 300%, sometimes 400-500% [4;515]. At that time, native people were forced to buy unnecessary items like buttons, laces, razors, bible books that they did not understand. Even diligent judges forced all underlings to wear glasses to share the cheap goods. Along with colonial invasions in Brazil, Portuguese merchants quickly engaged in trading with Inidans cheap jewelery from Europe, such as rings and necklaces, fancy goods that indigenous people enjoy, in exchange for brazilwood. In addition to the original spoils, the colonial trade was a very important source of income to nourish the empire. Thus, both the Spanish and Portuguese Royals maintained a commercial monopoly. Both Portuguese and Spanians resolutely banned the sale of foreigners in the colony and argued for smuggling. Commodities of foreign traders were confiscated with their ships even if they came by accident. The foreign sailors were executed or life-long servitude. In Spain, before 1717, all ships which travel to the Americas were equipped only in Seville, from this year onwards, this exclusive was extended to Cádiz and then to other cities. Retailers were only allowed to take their ships to the Americas when they adapted to many conditions. All colonial trade was under the control of the Department of Commerce in Seville under the authority of the Council of the Indies. Inter-colony trade was prohibited. Like the Portuguese kings, the Spanish kings also monopolized the trading of some commodities such as pearls and gems. Secondly, The strength of the naval forces was firm support for the colonial trade. History has shown the preconditions of a sea trade empire is a powerful navy. With its naval superiority, Spain became a leading European power, pioneering trade in the sea in the first half of the sixteenth century. The Armada that was known as the "Invicible" became the "dread" in the sea of any country in the war with Spain. The heavy defeat of the Armada in 1588 was a "painful" landmark, marking the irreparable collapse of the Spanish navy. From then on, Spain repeatedly suffered defeat when participating in wars. Accepting the signing of treaties, treaties of land, franchise of the Royal Spanish became a "very normal" thing. At the same time, since the end of the sixteenth century, when there was no more powerful naval force, Spain could hardly maintain the convoy escorts the treasure fleet on many unpredictability trade routes. The proprietary trade system of the Habsburgs began to reveal its limitations. In the 17th century, Spain still retained the Netherlands, Sicily and other Italian colonies. But at that moment, the Spanish power in 11 Pham Thi Thanh Huyen the sea had fallen so badly, as a Dutch author wrote: “There were only a few Dutch ships along the Spanish coast. From the peace of 1648, their ships and sailors were so few that they began hiring our ships to go to India (here it should be understood as America - the author), while they used to find every other ways not to foreigners sharp array to ... ". He wrote: "Obviously, the West Indies was the Spanish stomach (almost all of the revenues were here), which must be connected to the head by force at sea." Spain was described as "one of the countries with very developed limbs, but the heart was extremely weak" (lead) [1;82]. Meanwhile, thanks to the building of a strong naval fleet that the Netherlands, then England had in turn deceived Spain, Portugal and France from the "game" on the sea. It is thanks to the ambitious trains that "the sun has never set in England". The wealth of England and Holland was scattered across thousands of merchant ships around the world. Damages in wars were not a hindrance to these countries’ rising tendencies. As for Spain, the assets they bring from the New World were not large in size, carried on several ships, often follow relatively familiar routes, rarely changing, so vulnerable to be attacked. In short, the Spanish navy’s naval ineffectiveness may be the first sign of a complete collapse of the Spanish navy, as well as a factor in pushing the country into the abyss. 2.2. Differences between Spanish commercial activities in Latin America and of other Western European countries Firstly, the Spanish commercial process in Latin America was associated with the expansion and existence of the colonial system. This is different from the trading process of Portugal and the colonies such as Holland, England, France later. The trading process of Spanish colonialism took place simultaneously with geographical inventions and colonial invasions, although the early trading activities were primarily pillaged and raided. Along with the invasion process, the Spaniards established a colonial administration system (initially consisted of two, then rised to four captains). The rulers were taken directly from Spain to repress the Indians, colonize the colonies. Thus, when the Spanish empire was the largest expanse in terms of area, it was at the same time Spain’s rise to commercial power. Spanish kings often said that "the sun never sets" on their territory, though, they did not have good policies to maintain that pride. Colonies in Latin America were too large and distant to Spain, "the truth is that no Spanish king visited his American colonies and this was explained by the reason that the journey was uneasy and dangerous. Few know that America was not mentioned in royal courts. Even devoted kings, who very concerned about their colonial issues, such as Felipe II and Felipe IV, also depended on the Council of the Indies’s reports, and by this they believed that the wide colonies in addition to being a source of income, they are being well regulated" [2;9]. As the colonial area was shrank, the economic power in general, the trade process in particular, also fell. Meanwhile, the Portuguese trading process did not take place in parallel with their aggression in newly discovered lands. With the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) and Zaragora (1529), most of the Americas belonged to Spain, except Brazil. Meanwhile, some of the coastal territories of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Asia Pacific were under Portuguese sovereignty, with the exception of the Spanish Philippines before the Zaragora Treaty was ratified. Due to the inability to occupy vast territories, the Portuguese established only the fulcrums of their dominion on the coasts of Africa, India, Brazil and 12 The similarities and differences between the process of commercial operation of Spain... the islands. The Portuguese used these lands to develop their foreign trade. The meager population made the Portuguese unable to consolidate their full colonial regime, but their "colonial regime" could only produce commercial firms, not enough to further develop the Portuguese expand, even did not protect their occupied positions. Portuguese traveled around Africa successfully and expanded their trade routes by establishing a chain of trade deals: Azoré Island, Madeira, Cape Verde, the islands of Guinea Bay, Angola, Mozambique, Goa in India and Macao in China. They developed a commercial empire that used their port cities as a commercial base. The Portuguese did not care much about expanding their empire inland. In Brazil, the Portuguese colonialists began the same way. From accidental discovery in 1500, Brazil was considered a commercial port. The name Brazil came from a very common plant in this region, brazilwood, which later became the increasingly demanding red dye supply in Europe. So, Portuguese began to exploit Brazil’s resources mainly in the coastal zone. The first attempt to establish a Portuguese government presence in Brazil was made by John III in 1533. First, he divided the coast into 15 parts, each about 150 miles long, giving 15 tide God, called donatários. Only two of the donatários managed successfully. In the 1540s, John III was forced to change his policy. He placed Brazil under the direct control of the Royal, appointed the Governor (like the Viceroy in the spanish government system in the Americas). Headquarter was in Bahia (today Salvador). It was the capital of Brazil for more than two centuries, until it was replaced by Río de la Plata de Janeiro in 1763. Portugal’s management system was different from Spain. While the SpanishRoyal maintained legal and financial control of the territories, the Portuguese Royal began by granting government authority along with great areas. The governors had the right to decide independently of the royal family, which could self-tax. The Spaniards used a cumbersome system awaiting legal approval from Spain for every decision of the government. Conversely, the Portuguese focused on exploiting brazilwood, sugar, cigarettes, cotton, cocoa and rubber. Portuguese goverment more focused on commercial activities rather than creating cultural and social influences to indigenous. At this point, the Spanish government shown more effort in the "spiritual conquest", and the marks which they left is deeper. Compared to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France, we also see that their commercial activities (here primarily referred to foreign trade at sea) did not exactly coincide with their colonial expansions. Without the establishment of the royal colony, the private merchant ships of these countries appeared and traded relatively well in the waters under Spanish sovereignty, Portugal. Initially, due to the Spanish and Portuguese government’s monopoly policies, most Dutch, British and French traders used smuggling and even pirate operations to scramble the gains that the two empires hadmade before. The Elizabethan government had at times tacit, sometimes openly supported pirate activities, granted pirates (like Francis Drake, John Hawkin) the title of aristocrat, treated them as national heroes. . Then the British, Dutch and French governments signed commercial contracts with the Spanish and Portuguese governments, purchased commercial licenses for official goods exchange in Latin America. Trade companies were the arms that help these governments open their doors to colonial aggression, appropriate the influence of other rivals. In other words, for otherWestern European countries such as the Netherlands, England and France, the process of trading took place first, which was the precondition for the subsequent infiltration of the government. Moreover, due to their powerful of navy and economy, these countries traded not only in their own colony, but also in much of 13 Pham Thi Thanh Huyen others’ colonies. The existence of the colonies was not the root cause of the economic degradation or degradation of countries like England and the Netherlands. In this regard, Spain and Portugal exposed the limitations of the first "colonial era" when letting the mainland economy rely so heavily on the existence of their colonial system. Second: Although the goals of Western European trading were similar - looking for profit, their approaches were different (including how to make money and how to use the earned money). The way to search for the wealth of both the Portuguese and the Spanish "created a stigma in their character", it was also a blow to the healthy development of foreign trade and industry in this two countries. Spaniards and Portuguese had been so eager to seek profit that "they became berserk". They only looked for gold and silver and not looked for new incentives for domestic industry [1; 92]. Because of keeping the earned wealth of gold and silver, accumulating so much in the country, limiting the spread of money abroad, the Spanish government set tariff, limited import and export. These wrong measures led to the "dying" of domestic production and the spread of smuggled goods from abroad. Domestic industries were getting weaker and weaker, produced only a few products such as wool, iron ore, wine, etc. In addition, the population declined continuously (due to the war, due to the wave of immigration to America, due to plague, due to the religious policy of the Spanish dynasties ...) also led to the stagnation of the Spanish industry. Both the mainland and the colony were dependent on supplies which made by the Dutch, the British. The Spanish government so focused on gold and silver that neglected the development of its domestic industry. They suffered from "gloomy" or unawareness of the fact that it was the new industry that motivates trade, not gold. Incorrect application of the doctrine of mercantilism, that is, the weight of gold and silver, made Spanish commerce in Latin American colonies essentially looting. The goal of all Spaniards was to bring as much gold as possible. The government also not relied on healthy trade and industry, but relied on silver to be transported from the Americas to pay for massive national expenditures. Meanwhile, the Spanish merchant fleets were regularly looted, "just take five, six big ships are Royal Treasury was hurt severely, the country’s financial paralysis year" [1; 83]. At this point, Portugal was like Spain. Because of their passion for gold and diamonds, the Portuguese neglected their cultivation on their lands. They even had to sell their vineyards to the British for gold - which was the gold they made in Brazil and then transferred to the British [1;94]. Britain became a supplier to Portugal for all kinds of essential goods, including salt and food. In contrast, the British and the Dutch focused on agriculture and industry in the country, bringed what they have to exchange and trade with other countries. The money they earned from the sale of goods was revolved for industrial use, or uesed to buy cheap goods elsewhere to supply the colonies and even the Spanish state and Portugal. From the despised "people of the clods" they became "servants of all the oceans" [1;144]. Thus, it was the way in which the wealth obtained from trading with the colonies affected the destiny of nations. The Portuguese and Spanish empire grew increasingly depressed and the flow of gold and silver flowed from America, while other countries became the trading empires of the 17th century (Netherlands), XVIII (England). Finally, the revolutionary bourgeoisie, the industrial revolution started out in these countries, not in Spain and Portugal. 14 The similarities and differences between the process of commercial operation of Spain... 3. Conclusion The decline of the Spanish empire due to many factors. Conquering and forming an empire is one thing, but maintaining it is another. Spain became poor because it had too much money, while other countries had to work in a way to create wealth in a more sustainable way. When the Spaniards were busy thinking about the way to spend the gold bars, in other European countries, people were learning to weave, iron, wood, and marine resources. This would be work that brought in less money than gold digging. But the value of labor helped them to realize the meaning of money and made them unable to squander the fruits of labor. Spain lacked the hard-working hard work that the English and the Dutch had. Lazyness and eating habits turned them away from sales and away from production. On the contrary, they were over-confident in their religious and social status, and eventually relied on outsiders for sales. Why did the Spanish Empire fade? That is because money was not invested in industry but spent on luxury and war. Just like building a home without building foundation, this model lacked foundation for success. This country did not create any other fortune from any industry and did not think of using money to be useful. "A kitchen full of food will create a bad will" - Benjamin Franklin’s motto is probably correct in the case of Spain. REFERENCES [1] Alfred Thayer Mahan, 2012. The impacts of maritime powers on history, 1660 – 1783. Knowledge Publisher, Hanoi. [2] Antonio Domínguez Ortiz, 2009. Spain, three thousand years of history. The World Publisher, Hanoi. [3] Carlo M. Cipolla, 1970. The Economic Decline of Empires. Mithuen & Co Ltd, London [4] F.Ia. Pôlianxki, 1978. Economic history of nations (besides Soviet), Volume I: Feudal period (Translators: Truong Huu Quynh – Luong Ninh), The Social Science Publisher, Hanoi. [5] John R. Fisher, 1997. The Economic Aspects of Spanish Imperialism in America, 1492 – 1810. 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