A Silver River in a Silver World
Dutch Trade in the Rio de la Plata, 1648–1678
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:30th Apr '20
Should be back in stock very soon
Illuminates Dutch participation in Latin-American colonial trade while revising the standard historical argument of illegal 'contraband' trading and 'corrupt' officials.
A study for scholars of colonial Latin American, Dutch, and economic history that explores the nature and extent of Dutch trade during an understudied period of Spanish America's history. It raises questions about foreign 'contraband' traders and 'corrupt' officials, underscoring that their activities frequently proceeded within the law.Drawing on a wide and rich array of sources, this book explores the nature and extent of Dutch trade and commerce in the Río de la Plata during three decades of the least-studied century (1650–1750) of Spain's rule in the Americas. In doing so, it raises important questions about trade in colonial South America and how it was impacted by the Dutch, suggesting that these transactions were carried out within the confines of the law, contradicting common beliefs among scholars that this trading was not regulated. The book contributes to a growing literature on contraband trade, administration, networks, and corruption while challenging narratives of exclusively Spanish influence on the Americas.
'In this valuable new book, David Freeman has illuminated the complexity and importance of Dutch commercial connections with the Rio e la Plata in the seventeenth century, thus revising our understanding of both colonial administration and the organization of the regional economy. Based on impressive archival research, this well-researched volume thus provides valuable new insights into the form and structure of Dutch and other foreign trade through Buenos Aires to the silver-producing centers of the Andes.' Lyman Johnson, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
'A Silver River in a Silver World eloquently bridges the local and the global and provides a novel perspective on the making of the Atlantic World and early modern globalization. Freeman beautifully illustrates the importance of the interconnected histories of the Dutch and Spanish empires in the South Atlantic.' Fabricio Prado, College of William & Mary, Virginia
'Freeman has written a beautiful narrative history of a little-known episode of the Dutch in Spanish South America between 1648 and 1678 … This work fits into and illuminates Atlantic world, Dutch, Spanish, and South American history, as well as the history of early modern globalization … Recommended.' J. J. Butt, Choice
'… his excellent archival work and the use of multilingual sources, David Freeman reveals an internal contradiction to his overall picture in this regard.' Gilberto Guerra Pedrosa, Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History
ISBN: 9781108417495
Dimensions: 235mm x 158mm x 18mm
Weight: 470g
238 pages