SMALL business, MEXICAN economy, SMALL business finance, INDUSTRIAL policy, VALUE chains, MEXICAN economic policy, DEVELOPMENT banks, COMMERCIAL credit
Abstract
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Copyright of Mexican Studies / Estudios Mexicanos is the property of University of California Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
COCOA industry, CACAO beans, ALTERNATIVE currencies, HISTORY of free trade, SPANISH colonies, SPANISH colony, Mexico, 1540-1810, MEXICAN economy, NEW Spain, COMMERCE, HISTORY
Abstract
The article examines the commercialization of the cacao bean from Guayaquil, Ecuador and its use as a form of currency during the second half of the 17th Century. Focusing on the merchant's guild in Mexico City, Mexico, the article analyzes how a small group of Mexican merchants controlled the cacao trade in New Spain. It discusses the merchants' control after the opening of the Pacific ports in 1774 and the establishment of a free trade system in New Spain in 1789. The political and economic results of this free trade system for the demand and prices in the cacao trade are also analyzed.