Abstract
This paper draws the career of an English merchant settled in Madrid at the beginning of 1630’s who, at the middle of the following decade, had become banker of Philip IV. Suddenly interrupted his career due to the bankrupt of October 1647, Benjamin Wright proved to be a tenacious man during the rest his life in Spain. The reconstruction of his businesses has been made on the basis of primary sources from different archives (notably Archivo Historico de Protocolos Notariales de Madrid and Archivo General de Simancas). These sources have allowed us to appreciate for first time with a certain degree of clarity into the complex world of the Spanish royal finances, the existing differences between the amounts of money Benjamin agreed to lend the king, and the money that was actually transferred to its final destination. Also the differences between the money Benjamin lent and the amounts he actually recovered. Along the paper, Microhistory and Economic and Social History often meet, and this produces a paradigmatic example of ascending social mobility in Seventeenth Century Spain.
Highlights
RESUMEN: Este artículo reconstruye la trayectoria de un comerciante inglés instalado en Madrid a principios de la década de 1630, que a mediados de la siguiente se había convertido en banquero de Felipe IV
Factor and asentista of Philip IV of Spain ABSTRACT: This paper draws the career of an English merchant settled in Madrid at the beginning of 1630’s who, at the middle of the following decade, had become banker of Philip IV
Interrupted his career due to the bankrupt of October 1647, Benjamin Wright proved to be a tenacious man during the rest his life in Spain
Summary
RESUMEN: Este artículo reconstruye la trayectoria de un comerciante inglés instalado en Madrid a principios de la década de 1630, que a mediados de la siguiente se había convertido en banquero de Felipe IV. Interrumpida de súbito su trepidante carrera debido a la suspensión de pagos de octubre de 1647, Benjamin Wright aún dejó constancia de una gran tenacidad hasta el final de sus días. La reconstrucción de sus negocios se ha efectuado a partir de fuentes primarias provenientes en gran parte del Archivo Histórico de Protocolos Notariales de Madrid, así como del Archivo General de Simancas. Entre otras cuestiones de relevancia, dichas fuentes han permitido observar por primera vez con cierta nitidez en el complejo mundo de las finanzas de la monarquía hispánica, las diferencias existentes entre lo que se asentó y lo que finalmente se ejecutó, así como las registradas entre el dinero que el inglés colocó en su destino final y el que logró recuperar sobre los pagos que le libró la real hacienda. PALABRAS CLAVE: Comercio; finanzas; España; siglo XVII; Benjamin Wright
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