Socie y o I ish La in Ame ican S udies
Maison Rouge
1268 Bu igny, Swi ze land
A Desc ip ion o he I ish in Se ille
Me chan s o he Eigh een h Cen u y
By Manuel Fe nández Cha es and Me cedes Game o Rojas
T ansla ed by Da id Ba nwell and Ca men Rod íguez Alonso
The au ho s o e a su ey o he p esence o he I ish on he A lan ic Coas o he sou h o Spain, ocusing on hei comme cial ac i i ies
du ing he eigh een h cen u y, speci ically he case o Pa icio O’Con y and Juana Kea ing.
This wo k is based on a wide s udy ha he au ho s a e ca ying ou on he ole played by o eign me chan s in
eigh een h-cen u y Spain. The i s phase co e ed a numbe o he amilies o Flemish me chan s; in his s udy we
seek o deal wi h some o he de ining cha ac e is ics o I ish me chan s.
In o ma ion on he I ish p esence in he ci y o Se ille is ai ly ske chy compa ed o ha on o he colonies o med
by B i ish subjec s on he Ibe ian Peninsula, among which Cádiz, Málaga and Bilbao a e mos p ominen . Sou ces
used up ill now do no allow o a comp ehensi e unde s anding o he olume o ade be ween Se ille and o he
places; cau ion is he e o e ad ised when judging he impo ance o his ade. The g adual sil ing o he (Gua-
dalqui i ) i e made i na igable only o essels o shallow d augh , usually Du ch o Swedish. E en hese essels in
d y yea s ound i di icul o a el beyond Puebla del Río, and o ha e y eason he moo ings he e came o be
used equen ly. Wa e -bo ne a ic used he ollowing ou e: a Spanish essel - o en a kind o sloop known as a
‘baland a’ - would b ing ca go om Se ille o ei he Sanlúca de Ba ameda, Cádiz o Pue o de San a Ma ía. The
load would hen be ans e ed a one o hese h ee po s o a ship wi h g ea e d augh - usually a o eign essel -
des ined o a po ou side Spain. The en i e p ocess was o e seen by a me chan based a he po and by he ship’s
ma e.
This p ac ice is wha es ic s ou in o ma ion abou me chandise sen om Se ille, o impo ed h ough ha ci y, i
we only ollow essels’ poin o o igin and des ina ion. Fo his eason we ha e u ned o he slow and o en
haphaza d s udy o pape wo k and legal documen a ion. The wen y- ou su i ing o icial documen s we ha e
aced - p omisso y no es, epo s o losses o ships o damage, demand no es, sales o p oduc s, powe s o
a o ney, bank up cies, wills, in en o ies o goods, dow ies, sales and en als o u ni u e, oge he wi h o he w i en
ma e ial, pe mi us o d aw as accu a e a p o ile as possible o he si ua ion o I ish people in he ci y o Se ille. In
gene al, howe e , his documen a ion does no pe mi us o s a e he olume o ade o he ca ego y o me chan-
dise in ol ed. This p oblem was highligh ed in Ga cía-Baque o’s now classic s udy, and he di icul y has been
ecognised in o he wo k (Ga cía-Baque o 1988: 479, La io de Oña e 2000: 123). A any a e, using indi ec e idence
i is indeed possible o o e a p elimina y ou line o comme cial ac i i y.
F om his i is clea ha I ishmen, oge he wi h hei English co eligionis s, o med pa o Se ille’s ade wi h he
es o Eu ope. This ade was o a lesse ex en han he ade wi h Ame ica, bu was ne e heless o consequence
in supplying hose p ima y ma e ials ha we e needed o indus y and ood consump ion in he coun ies o he
no h. The I ish colony in Se ille was o lesse size han he e y powe ul Flemish communi y o he ex ensi e
F ench communi y. I s p esence da es a leas om he six een h cen u y (Ma ín Mu phy 2002: 487-489), al hough
i was du ing he eigh een h cen u y ha i eached i s zeni h, in spi e o Se ille’s hen declining impo ance as a
ading ci y.
The adi ion o comme cial in e changes wi h England in ac can be aced o he Anglo-Cas ilian ea y o 1254,
e y sho ly a e he econquis a o Se ille om he Moo s. We ha e no in o ma ion on I ishmen se led in he ci y
un il owa ds he end o he i een h cen u y. The na u e o he ade was o emain unchanged o cen u ies: wool,
wine, oil, soap, ce eals, lea he s and u s exchanged o goods such as ex iles, whea and ish. The e is e idence o
ade wi h I eland a his ime - wine o ish (Lade o Quesada 1980: 98-99. Childs 1978).
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The g ow h o he olume o English manu ac u es is closely linked o he co esponding inc ease in he expo o
high-quali y Cas ilian wool. As is known, England was able o inc ease i s p oduc ion o wool, hough o in e io
quali y, by eeding i s sheep on he abundan g ass yielded by i s well-wa e ed pas u es. While he p oduc ion o
high-quali y wool in England dec eased, he e was an inc ease in demand o high quali y ab ics. This obliged
English manu ac u e s o look elsewhe e o hei supply and o come o Spain in sea ch o wha was hen he ines
wool a ailable in Eu ope. Mo e han hal he wool expo ed by Cas ile le h ough he po o Bilbao in he
eigh een h cen u y, and wool expo s inc eased e en mo e o sa is y he demand o coun ies such as Holland and
F ance (Bilbao, Fe nández de Pinedo 1986: 343-359).
The g ea success s o y o Cas ilian wool, i appea s, is abo e all some hing ha e ol ed in he eigh een h cen u y. In
1795 Cas ilian wool sen o England ep esen ed 60% o he o al olume expo ed, a la ge inc ease compa ed o he
p e ious pe iod. Mo e in e es ing s ill is England’s loss o in e es in impo ing I ish wool. A he beginning o he
cen u y his ep esen ed 90%, while by he 1740s i amoun ed o only hal he wool impo ed. Demand in England
swi ched decisi ely owa ds aw ma e ial o highe quali y (Bilbao 1998). This ci cums ance, oge he wi h di icul ies
occasioned by he hea y ax on he expo ab oad o a icles o I ish wool ha was imposed by he Anglo-I ish
pa liamen in 1698, and he u he ax he English pa liamen imposed in he same yea on he impo o I ish
goods o England and Wales, caused many I ish me chan amilies o emig a e o economic easons. These joined
he Wild Geese, who a gene a ion ea lie had gone in o exile ollowing he mili a y de ea s a he Boyne in 1690 and
Augh im in 1691 and he ep ession ha ollowed hese de ea s (O’Bei ne Ranelagh 1999: 74-76).
The ole o he I ish in Spanish ade wi h Eu ope: A su ey o he Eigh een h Cen u y
I he e is one ci y in which he Anglo-I ish colony was impo an i is Cádiz, headqua e s o he monopoly ade
wi h he Ame icas and Spain’s main po in he eigh een h cen u y. The e hey o med one o he mos in luen ial
comme cial colonies o he eigh een h cen u y, a e he F ench and he Spania ds, al hough wi h a much la ge
olume o ea nings on an indi idual basis (Ga cía Fe nández 2005: 32-34). The I ish we e he dominan sec ion o
he Anglo-I ish communi y, p obably because hey enjoyed p e e en ial ea men as compa ed o hei English
co eligionis s, e en hough hey oo we e subjec s o His B i annic Majes y. Fo example, hey did no ha e o
pa icipa e in he egis a ion o o eigne s, such as was ca ied ou in 1791 and 1794. This was because ‘ he I ish
se led in hese Kingdoms mus be allowed hold and main ain he p i ileges awa ded hem which gi e hem pa i y
wi h na u al-bo n Spania ds... in which ega d once se led in hese kingdoms hey a e accep ed as Spania ds and do
enjoy he same igh s acco ding o he dec ees ha ha e been issued’ (La io de Oña e, 2000: 100, 124-130, 132-133,
137). The I ish bene i ed om hei si ua ion by being able o a oid es ic ions, and he con lic s be ween he wo
kingdoms o Spain and England, and o ca y on business wi h ewe impedimen s han he English.
In he own o Huel a, a small o eign me chan colony also se led. I became he only cus oms poin o he coas
o Huel a P o ince, he coun y o Niebla and he g ea e pa o he Andé alo egion, and hus cons i u ed a
dis ibu ion cen e o he owns in hese a eas (La a Ródenas, Peña Gue e o 1991). Fo eign ade was domina ed
by he I ish, who expo ed ce eal, co k and wine (González C uz 1991), and main ained close ela ions wi h Cádiz.
The i s I ish o se le in Huel a we e Thomas and Pablo Whi e o Blanco, b o he s o Guille mo Blanco, who had
se led in Se ille, and also ela ed o o he Blancos esiden in Cádiz. Coupled wi h hese was he A chdekin o
A cediano amily (Gozál ez Escoba 1991: 271-292), om Wa e o d, and he Waddings om Ca ick. These
amilies engaged p ima ily in he wholesale and e ail ade and in shipping.
In Málaga he e was also an I ish colony - among o he o eign communi ies - in ol ed in wholesale ading. This
was much mo e impo an in he second hal o he eigh een h cen u y han in he pos -Napoleonic pe iod, when
Spania ds - many o hem om ou side he egion - ook o e he ade. Au o a Gámez and Begoña Villa ha e
s udied he ca ee s o hese me chan s. They we e equen ly g ouped in o ‘mixed’ companies, ha is o say o med
o o eigne s and na i e Spania ds, e en hough he same o eigne s had li ed a long ime in he coun y and had
child en who could be conside ed ully Spanish.
One I ishman s ands ou om he o he s. Juan Mu phy, a na i e o Wa e o d, o med pa o Málaga’s weal hy
me chan class om a leas 1776. The amily es ablished b anches o his company in Ve ac uz (Mexico), Cádiz and
London, ading ac i ely wi h ci ies bo h in Eu ope and in he Ame icas. He was also a ship-owne , a landowne ,
and o cou se an hidalgo (nobleman). Juan Gal ey, om Ca ick-on-Sui in Coun y Tippe a y, is an example o hose
who used ma iage o open up pa hs o ad ancemen in business. His i s ma iage was o And ea de Gand y
Vi e mon , membe o a Flemish amily se led be ween Cádiz and Se ille. The O´B iens, who ma ied in o he
F ench A bo é amily ha had se led in hose ci ies, con inued in he same line o business as he o he s, while he
Quil y amily es ablished spo adic ela ionships wi h me chan s om Se ille.
The beginning o comme cial ela ions be ween he Cana y Islands and G ea B i ain da es om he six een h
cen u y, wi h he expo o swee malmsey wine o he English cou . The I ish colonies ha g ew om his
main ained close links wi h hose based in he Andalusian po s al eady men ioned; amilies such as Whi e, Walsh,
Colgan, and Fi zge ald had a long his o y in he Cana ies (Guime á Ra ina 1985: 49-48, 58).
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I ish me chan s in Se ille: An ini ial ske ch
In spi e o a slowdown in i s comme cial ac i i y, i could be said ha Se ille con inued o enjoy signi ican a ic, as
i s s a egic posi ion some nine y kilome es om he sea p o ided me chan s wi h he oppo uni y o ade deep
inland and supply he demand bo h o he o me me opolis and o many loca ions in he in e io . In addi ion, he
e ile la lands o he Guadalqui i Ri e plain and su ounding a eas con inued o supply abundan oil and ci us
ui ; hese, oge he wi h wool, we e expo ed by i e . Spanish ade wi h England in he eigh een h cen u y had a
bipola cha ac e , he wo poles being he Can ab ian egion and Andalusia. The sou he n egion was p ominen in
he expo o ci us ui and p oduc s de i ed om g apes. Wi hin his amewo k, and bea ing in mind he eigh
egis ies o he di e en Andalusian po s, Se ille had a clea edge in expo s, bo h a egional and na ional le els.
As ega ds ci us ui expo s, Ga cía Fe nández belie es ha pa o he p oduce o he Guadalqui i i e plain
egion was p obably expo ed om he po o Sanlúca , o om Cádiz i sel , o a ail o he supe io ha bou
acili ies ha hese po s o e ed. Ne e heless, she a gues o he g ow h o he hin e land o Cádiz as a base o he
mass expo o ci us ui . This supplan ed he adi ional expo cen es - Se ille and Málaga - and came o supply
40% o he ci us o be sold (Ga cía Fe nández 2006: 291-294). Howe e , al hough we ha e no comp ehensi e da a,
we conside – in line wi h Ál a ez Pan oja (2000: 25) - ha a la ge pa o hese expo s came om he egion
a ound Se ille, since, as Ga cía Fe nández he sel poin s ou , i is a complica ed unde aking o asce ain he ini ial
poin o o igin o he goods sen ou h ough he po s. This leads us o belie e ha , i in 1786 Se ille eached he
highes p oduc ion igu es o he en i e cen u y (550,750 uni s - Ga cía Fe nández: 294), i could ha dly ha e been
seconda y o o he po s, a leas when i came o goods p oduced.
A ound he middle o he eigh een h cen u y he la ges g oup o o eign me chan s in Se ille we e he F ench,
al hough he Flemish we e be e ep esen ed in he ci y’s ade, whe e hey we e mo e p ominen han in o he
ci ies such as Cádiz.
The es ablishmen in Se ille o hese ading colonies ha aded om he ma i ime po s had i s a ionale in he
speci ic kind o ac i i ies hey we e in ol ed in. They we e nea e o he p oduc s hey expo ed - ci us, wool, oil -
and om Se ille i was easy o dis ibu e wha was impo ed - manu ac u ed p oduc s, i on, ish - owa ds he
in e io o Andalusia and Ex emadu a. This pa e n can be con i med by s udying p omisso y no es in a ou o
hese me chan s, which yield in o ma ion abou ad ances o me chandise ha we e being o e ed in exchange o a
delayed paymen da e. As he ma ke was ex emely agile, since capaci y o consump ion in u al socie y depended
on good ha es s, indeb edness equen ly ied he e aile o his supplie . The la e could no demand paymen
wi hou b inging his deb o o bank up cy, no jus because i would make i e en mo e di icul o eco e he ull
deb owed, bu also because in he u u e he would be le wi hou any cus ome in he own in ques ion. Thei
beha iou wi h supplie s was bound by simila pa ame e s.
We ha e al eady men ioned he in e es in wool which adi ionally impelled ela ions be ween Cas ile and England.
‘My a he ’s business was ai ly p ospe ous. I consis ed o expo ing ag icul u al p oduce such as ui and wool o
England,’ w o e José Blanco Whi e in his au obiog aphy. The wool was essen ially bough in Ex emadu a, hough
wool nea e a hand in he p o ince o Se ille was no o e looked.
Oil was ano he p oduc which hey deal in, since i was used in he p ocess o washing aw wool. The Maco es
(Maco ish) amily, du ing he second hal o he eigh een h cen u y, is mos no ewo hy in his espec . By he end
o he cen u y and a he beginning o he nine een h cen u y, Diego and Pa icio Wiseman, ela i es o Ca dinal
Wiseman, we e he bigges buye s among he I ish. On 5 Janua y 1803, o example, hey o de ed he pu chase
‘ om whome e can supply 15,000 a obas o oil, o be s o ed in pa s o he ci y o i s su oundings o in any o he
place un il such ime as we o de ha by paid ca iage and a ou expense and wi h he co esponding documen s i
be deli e ed ou o own o he wa ehouses we ha e in he Ca e e ia o o any o he places sui able o us’. Soap is
de i ed om oil, and Se ille’s soap ac o ies we e he mos impo an in Eu ope. They o med pa o he monopoly
o he Dukes o Alcalá. As Alonso Mo gado w o e in he six een h cen u y, ‘Se ille also supplies many pa s o
Spain, he Ame icas, Flande s and England wi h his whi e soap’.
E en mo e han wool and oil, he expo o ci us ui was p obably he mos ypical ac i i y o I ishmen in he
egion o Se ille. The expo o bi e o anges o England da es om he hi een h cen u y, and is be e docu-
men ed om he i een h cen u y onwa ds. These we e used bo h o making ma malade as well as in medicine and
pe umes. The ade was so ex ensi e ha he ui became known as he ‘Se ille o ange’ o biga ade. The e we e
al eady some a emp s o cul i a e he ui in England, an icipa ing he o ange ies o he eigh een h cen u y. In 1595
some o ange ees we e in oduced in o Su ey by he Ca ews o Bedding on. These we e des oyed in he big
eezes o 1739-40. The e a e many e e ences o his ade in he eigh een h cen u y. Al hough some Flemish and
F enchmen we e in ol ed, since he en i e ade was o ien a ed owa ds he No h A lan ic and he Bal ic, he e is
no doub ha i was he B i ish - I ish o English - who domina ed he ma ke . This co e ed no jus o anges, bu
also lemons, he juice o bo h ui s as well as hei d ied inds. Swee o anges, o chinas, as hey we e hen known in
Se ille, had been b ough om India by he Po uguese a he s a o he six een h cen u y. They quickly eached
Se ille, al hough i is di icul o es ablish a wha s age hey began o be expo ed. The i s e e ences we ind a e o
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hose expo ed in 1757 by Pa icio Ha pe and Company. This ad ances by some o y yea s he ea lies epo s o
his ha we ha e had up o now, which e e ed o Majo ca.
This ade le a g ea e ec on he Se ille landscape, since ci us cul i a ion equi ed o cha ds o ees whe e
p e iously pomeg ana es had domina ed. A he same ime, o ange g o es we e added in places whe e oli e ees
we e in cul i a ion, some imes su passing he oli es in economic alue. Ci us plan a ions we e laid ou no only in
he capi al and su ounding dis ic , bu also all along he banks o he Guadalqui i , om whence he ui could be
easily ma ke ed. Cul i a ion sp ead well ou in o he coun yside ( he e is documen a ion a ailable abou sales o
ci us in Ma chena) and he moun ains a ound Cádiz (Villama ín).
The e we e many a ia ions - no mu ually exclusi e - on how he ade was unde aken:
a) The me chan pu chased one o wo c ops o o anges and lemons p oduced by he small a me . This la -
e pe son was usually a enan a me who ecei ed an ad ance paymen o his c op as a way o gua an ee-
ing he sale. The buye unde ook o pick and box he ui , he p ice pe box a ying acco ding o he a ie y
and he condi ions o ade. I is in e es ing ha om he middle o he cen u y, speci ically om he ime o
he Se en Yea s Wa , a clause was in oduced ha he con ac was oid i a ban on ade wi h Spain we e o
be imposed. Families such as Bu le , Whi e (Ál a ez Pan oja 2000: 31), Maco es, Kea ing, Cahill, Beck, and
he English amilies Rice, Ca pin e , Summe hayes and Da win a e good examples. Doña Ana Ma sellaque,
wi e o Don Guille mo Da win, had a he dea h in 1735 some 74,577 eales ‘gi en o a ious a me s on ac-
coun o he o anges and lemons o he coming ha es as cos ed in he ag eemen ...’ (AHPSe, leg. 8.742 .
218). Da win himsel bough he p oduce o en small a ms in Alcalá de Guadaí a in he 1770s. Bu he bes
example is he company which Don Miguel Coleman o med wi h Don Diego de Gua do in 1752. The I ish-
man in es ed 500 pesos escudos (75,000 eales), he equi alen o he capi al he had ad anced o o anges and
sou lemons o se e al a me s and owne s o 18 g o es on he ou ski s o he ci y and elsewhe e. Fo his
pa , De Gua do con ibu ed 3,500 pesos, in which was included he alue o 70 kegs o Flande s bu e
(AHPSe, leg. 3790, . 610).
b) The me chan o e ed himsel as gua an o o he a me , bo h in he en al and in any possible sale, he
la e ha ing o unde ake o sell o him alone he p oduce o o anges and lemons; his happened in he case
o Don Guille mo Da win in 1752 in a a m in Somb e e o, in Puebla del Río.
c) Some imes he me chan himsel leased he a m. As well as bes owing on him he ole o p oduce , he
a m o e ed him a place o ec ea ion as well as e uge om ha sh wea he o equen epidemics. The e was
o en an ag eemen wi h he a me ha he could ha e he ege able p oduce g own on he a m, while he
leaseholde would keep he ui yielded by he ees. Thus Don Guille mo Ca pin e decla ed in his will o
1738 ha he held he lease on a a m in Tablada whe e he a me had o gi e him, wi hou Ca pin e incu -
ing any cos s wha soe e , all ui p oduced un il he paid o a deb o 16,000 eales.
d) The pu chase o o cha ds. In gene al i has been conside ed ha in es men in eal es a e by he Andalu-
sian bou geoisie – a class which as we ha e seen was o di e ing o igins and, i migh be supposed, di e se
men ali ies - was symp oma ic o he de lec ion o capi al om mo e luc a i e ‘bou geois’ ac i i ies. In o he
wo ds i could be aken as a clea case o ‘ he be ayal o he bou geoisie’, e en hough hese e y Andalu-
sians we e o qui e ecen o igins, be hey na i es, I ish, English, F ench, Flemish, I alians, Ge mans and so
on. I is ad isable o ake o he ac o s in o accoun , such as he need o own eal es a e, p ecisely because o
hei o igins as o eigne s, in o de o gain access o ade wi h Ame ica (we will no ge u he in o his as-
pec he e). This was especially ele an since ade wi h England became inancially isky because o he con-
inual wa s o he ime. In addi ion o all o hese, o cou se, he e was he simple d i e o expand busi-
nesses.
These in es men s ocused on highly alued p oduc s, a a ime and in a cen u y when ci us ui s we e beginning
o be used by he B i ish Na y o comba scu y. The i s a emp was ca ied ou by Lind in 1747, and Cook
applied he lesson in his expedi ions, bu i was no ill 1795 ha he B i ish na y adop ed ci us o gene al use. The
Flemish and he F ench, who we e abo e all expo e s o oil, in es ed in oli e plan a ions, while he I ish o he
same eason u ned hei a en ion o he ui g o es, al hough hey did make some mino in es men s in o he
c ops. They in es ed much capi al in hei ui g o es. They plan ed ees, dug wells, and buil houses. In o he
wo ds he e ec o hei ac i i ies was no only economically bene icial o hemsel es, bu i le a ich legacy o he
socie y whe e he I ishmen had chosen o li e.
A di icul alliance: Pa icio O’Con y and Juana Kea ing
A case in poin pe mi s us o illus a e wha has been said hi he o. Pa icio O’Con y, a well-known membe o he
B i ish colony in Se ille, came om he own o Dunga an, Coun y Wa e o d. His businesses included he impo
o bu e and ex iles, including silk. He also bough ci us ui o expo , as well as co n o be supplied o he
a my. Apa om his, we know ha he sen la ge numbe s o books o he egion a ound wha is now No he n
Colombia and Panamá, as well as o Buenos Ai es ( i e and i een c a es o books espec i ely, o he alue o 8,024
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Fe nández Cha es, Manuel and Me cedes Game o Rojas. A Desc ip ion o he I ish in Se ille.........................
and 52,154 sil e eales). He in es ed in he publishing business, o de ing he p in ing o 1,500 copies o An onio de
Neb ija’s Vocabula io (AHPSe, leg. 5197, .467).
His s ong social posi ion had led him o ma y Doña Juana Kea ing, a na i e o Wa e o d and membe o an I ish
amily ha was p ominen in F ance (Jahan 2003: 149-163). He was a iend o he I ish me chan Miguel Coleman,
also a na i e o Dunga an, and was Coleman’s execu o as well as owing him a signi ican amoun . His daugh e
Doña Elena O’Con y had ma ied pe haps he mos p ominen membe o he B i ish communi y in he 1740s and
1750s, a man who was one o he mos sough a e widowe s in Se ille socie y, Don Guille mo Da win, a na i e o
London. This was in keeping wi h a s a egy p ac ised by me chan amilies, who employed ma iage o hei
ad an age o he de elopmen o hei businesses and o ensu e amily s abili y. These ma iages sui ed bo h sides -
an en e p ising son-in-law who had some comme cial expe ience bene i ed om ela ionships wi hin his wi e’s
amily, while he made his own con ibu ion o expanding and/o consolida ing he business. This is he so-called ule
by son-in-law o which we ind examples h oughou he cen u y.
This p ac ice o e ed a ce ain ‘p e e ence o unions be ween amilies ha we e se led in he same e i o y (...)
because as a s a egy i pe mi ed he su i al o he me chan house as well as social ep oduc ion...’ (Fe nández
Pé ez 1997: 166). Da win was ne e ac ually made a business pa ne , undoub edly on accoun o he ha d imes
expe ienced by O'Con y a e he ma iage o his daugh e Elena. Thanks o hese ela ionships, Elena’s b o he ,
Juan, ook cha ge o he inances o he Englishman Guille mo Ca pin e , whose execu o was he same Guille mo
Da win. A ela i e o his wi e, Diego Kea ing, was a he same ime Da win’s ac o o business manage in Lisbon,
om whence Da win expo ed he la ge pa o he me chandise he sen o England.
Howe e , in 1743, illness p e en ed Pa icio om con inuing wi h his en e p ises and obliged his wi e o ake cha ge
o hem. Un il his dea h in 1745 i appea s ha hings wen easonably well, al hough he began o expe ience e e
g ea e sho alls. O’Con y’s main deb s consis ed o 1,000 pesos escudos o he alue o di e en ypes o silk ha
a numbe o people in he locali y o Yecla (Mu cia) had ailed o pay him, oge he wi h a ious accoun s, o he
alue o 70,334 eales, o co n he had sold o he a my in he yea s 1739 and 1740. The paymen o his was o be so
slow ha his son-in-law Don Guille mo Da win inhe i ed he balance o he deb , 12,374 eales. As la e as 1772, his
had no been ully discha ged (AHPSe, leg. 8.807). In 1742, his son Juan O’Con y ma ied Doňa Micaela de Tapia,
nei he o whom b ough any hing o ma e ial alue o he ma iage. The e y ac ha Juan was his compa io ’s
accoun an while a he same ime being his compe i o gi es us an idea o he di icul imes ha he amily
expe ienced in he 1740s.
Juana Kea ing’s g ea success occu ed in 1744 when she won a law sui agains a man who had ac ed as gua an o
o he people in Yecla. She eached an ag eemen wi h him in which she would eco e hal he 1,000 pesos owed
o he , o be paid in yea ly ins almen s o 100 pesos. The deb - idden couple O’Con y and Kea ing ob ained a
mo gage on wo a ms o pomeg ana e, o ange and lemon ees. He would pay in boxes o o anges which Juana
unde ook o expo . The es o he money was o be collec ed di ec ly om a gua an o in Yecla, o which
pu pose he couple in 1744 issued powe o a o ney o Don Juan Pa icio O’Ronan, a esiden o Alzi a (Valencia)
(AHPSe, leg. 3784 . 268).
Bu Juana did no seek o pe se e e wi h he husband’s businesses, and ins ead began o liquida e he eal es a e
a ached o he household. Tha same yea , 1744, she sold o a neighbou in T iana i e a anzadas (abou wo
hec a es) o Molla ines o 4,000 eales. She also sough o ge an ex ension on he en al o a a m o o anges and
lemons ha he couple had en ed ou o he monas e y o he Holy Spi i O de (AHPSe, leg. 3784 . 404 y 411).
One yea la e , in 1745, Pa icio O’Con y died. He le an inhe i ance o 1,000 pesos escudos, se e al pieces o
jewelle y and sil e pla e, domes ic u ensils and sund y i ems o u ni u e. He also le a ege able a m in T iana (La
Viñuela) and miscellaneous li es ock, oge he wi h he p oduc s o ou o he ege able ga dens he had en ed, wo
in Puebla del Río, one in T iana and one o he e y nea o he monas e y o La Ca uja. The emainde consis ed o
app oxima ely 206,895 eales owed o him bu whose paymen was less han ce ain (AHPSe, leg. 5203, .74).
Faced wi h such a c i ical si ua ion, and needing o deal wi h he bills a ising ou hei comme cial ac i i y, his widow
quickened he p ocess o selling o he amily inhe i ance by ge ing id o an A ican sla e and collec ing money
owed o g ape ha es s om p e ious yea s. She was in se e e s ai s, hounded by deb and unable o main ain he
ci us a ms. She eached ag eemen s o cancel en als and pay damages; in 1746 she paid 1,300 eales in damages and
penal ies o a esiden o Co ia o a pomeg ana e and o ange ui a m ha she had en ed (AHPSe, leg. 3785, .
174).
The dea h o he husband in p ac ice ep esen ed o Juana Kea ing he b eak-up o all his businesses. I appea s
ha he widow’s heal h de e io a ed a ound his ime. She made a will in 1747, in which she decla ed ha he eldes
son had al eady ecei ed du ing his a he ’s li e e e y hing ha he was en i led o. She passed he obliga ion o
educa ing he younge son Felipe O’Con y o Diego Kea ing, a ela i e in Lisbon. She s a ed ha she had had o pay
he daugh e Elena’s dow y a he ime o he ma iage o Don Guille mo Da win by using ‘money and goods’
belonging o Pa icio O’Con y, adding a his dea h ‘all he o anges and lemons which ha e been ha es ed his yea
on lands I ha e en ed’. The lack o capi al was caused by he non-paymen o ce ain ‘capi al om Ame ica’ ha
ne e a i ed - pe haps paymen o he books sen o Tie a Fi me (coas al Colombia) and Buenos Ai es o he alue
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Fe nández Cha es, Manuel and Me cedes Game o Rojas. A Desc ip ion o he I ish in Se ille.........................
o 46,538 eales. She sold he emaining li es ock o pay a deb o 900 eales o he compa io Tomás Maco es, and
she le 40 pesos o he ela i es Ma eo and Ana O’Con y and o hei wo g andchild en. Wha was le , 127 pesos
and 1,638 eales, was wha was o se e o he upkeep o he house. In spi e o he mise able si ua ion, Juana
Kea ing kep o he sel wha e e bi s and pieces emained, lea ing o F Da id O’Con y, pa ish p ies a Banes am
in Wa e o d, ‘a black el e ski and a g een gown wi h a gold lo al design o him o di ide up o make ado n-
men s o he chu ch in ha pa ish’ while o F . Juan Foge i, an Augus inian who se ed as he con esso she le
jewelle y ‘ o him o dis ibu e acco ding o he dic a es o his conscience.’
A s udy o legal claims and demands o paymen shows ha he majo i y o Pa icio O'Con y’s cus ome s we e
om Se ille and i s su oundings, while he emainde we e sca e ed h oughou a ious places in Spain (Mad id,
Cádiz, Málaga, Ca agena) and Eu ope simila o he case o his ellow I ishmen Whi e and Plunke , who o med a
comme cial iangle be ween Se ille, Ame ica and he ci ies o no he n Eu ope (Ál a ez Pan oja 2000: 34,38).
Whe e did Pa icio O’Con y’s comme cial ne wo k ail? The se back he su e ed was so se ious ha nei he his
alliance wi h an en e p ising son-in-law no he suppo o his compa io s could help him. This is ma e ial o u u e
esea ch, al hough we belie e ha he poo heal h o O’Con y and his wi e agg a a ed a si ua ion which migh
o he wise ha e been esol ed. The e we e also he unpaid accoun s o whea p o ided o he a my - which o
cou se cons i u ed a pe manen weigh on he Spanish economy - as well as o he in e na ional ac o s which canno
be igno ed. Among hese we e he cons an bans on ade wi h England du ing he a ious wa s be ween ha
coun y and Spain. The in e media y ole o Po ugal, be i legal o illegal, explains he luc ua ing ela ions wi h ha
coun y, bu i con inued o be an obs acle o he smoo h de elopmen o some businesses. Fo ming ma iage links
wi h o he g oups - F ench, Flemish, people om Rioja in No he n Spain - was a s a egy which did no comple ely
wo k o he O’Con y/Kea ing couple. In any case, he si ua ion a he end o he cen u y was in gene al di icul o
all me chan s based in Se ille. A de ailed s udy o his issue emains o be ca ied ou .
Manuel Fe nández Cha es and Me cedes Game o Rojas
Uni e si y o Se ille, Depa men o His o y
T ansla ed by Da id Ba nwell and Ca men Rod íguez Alonso
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