A Network-Based Merchant Empire: Dutch Trade in the Hispanic Atlantic (1680–1740)

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the contributions of Dutch and/or Flemish merchants to truly multinational enterprise. They were of vital importance for the functioning of the Spanish Atlantic system. The Hispanic monarchy had to fundamentally alter its relationship with its former enemies in order to maximize the profits to be had from American trade. The presence of Dutch businesses in the ports of Southern Spain, especially Cadiz, Seville and Malaga, facilitated long-standing relationships by the Flemish nation in Cadiz. This long-standing network linked Andalusia with the East, and with the Hispanic Atlantic, a system geared towards accessing the flow of silver pouring in from the Americas. Dutch commercial firms based particularly in Amsterdam sent their agents to Cadiz, the de facto headquarters of American trade, and Dutch ships plying the Amsterdam-Cadiz route were diverted off to the American territories from as early as 1690. Keywords: American trade; Cadiz; Dutch commercial firms; Hispanic Atlantic; multinational enterprise; Spanish Atlantic system