Santander: redistribuidor euroamericano de mercancías (1766-1785)

Abstract

This article analyses the commercial activity generated by the port of Santander between 1766 and 1785, using hitherto unstudied documentation relating to the linking of the port with to the Consulado de Burgos at that time. During that period the port was only qualified for trading Windward and did not yet have its own Consulate; it constitutes a stage previous to its commercial apogee. The documentation analysed shows the nature of the commercial flows, the participants in this trade, and the guidelines used in this initial period. An image of Santander emerges as port specialising in imports, linking Western Europe, Northern Spain and the Americas, configuring an economic space in which commercial networks with dominant urban vectors are starting to be established. This process occurs at a time when the relative positions of the Cantabrian ports change, to the benefit of Santander, as is reflected in the growth favoured by its trade with the Americas.