The commercial circuit in the South Pacific during the war between Spain and England seen through a triad of connected merchants, 1796-1816

Abstract

During the period 1796-1814 the long-distance trade in the Spanish Empire suffered several imbalances due to the constant wars that Spain maintained with England and France. In this work we are interested in approaching a group of merchants who managed to maintain contact among the Viceroyalties of Peru and Río de la Plata, the Chilean port city of Valparaíso and Europe through the interrelation of the coasting vessels routes that covered the different Pacific ports and the Transatlantic connection route between Europe and America. It’s a history of intercontinental trade and contact, that allows a perspective analysis to visualize the connections between the great commerce and the cabotage trade in times of war, through the circulation of men and merchandise in a period of warlike upheaval and turmoil.