Comercio de vino y lucha contra el fraude: Alicante entre el Antiguo Régimen y el Estado liberal

Abstract

Taking the city of Alicante as an object of study, we will make an approach to the fight against the adulteration of wine from the end of the Ancient Regime until the consolidation of the liberal regime. During the Modern Era and first decades of the nineteenth century, the efforts, along with protectionist policies, were aimed to prevent the entrance of the wine “adulterated” with blends of other wines coming from outside of the boundaries of Alicante. Once that free trade was decreed, in a production and trade growth background, adulteration was an object of double interest. One of them was to track the presence of adulteration products in exported wines in order to avoid the discredit that it entailed in the international market. Another matter of concern for the local hygienists was related to possible harmful effects of diverse substances in Alicante’s population.