Naval financing and supplies in Cartagena de Indias during the eighteenth century

Na al financing and supplies in Ca agena de Indias du ing he eigh een h cen u y José Manuel Se ano Ál a ez Uni e si y o Valladolid, Spain Abs ac This a icle analyses he ole o he na al sys em o Ca agena de Indias du ing he eigh - een h cen u y, especially he elemen s ela ed o i s financing and supply needs. Ca agena was he mos impo an na al base in he sou he n Ca ibbean, and his made i necessa y o deploy a coas gua d sys em ha was capable o cu bing smuggling and, a he same ime, ein o cing coas al su eillance. Keywo ds Ca ibbean, Ca agena de Indias, eigh een h cen u y, na al financing, na al sys em In oduc ion The de ence o he coas s o Tie a Fi me, wi h i s undamen al nucleus in Ca agena de Indias, was, om he se en een h cen u y, an elemen o i al impo ance o he Ame ican au ho i ies. This a icle analyses he di ficul ies o financing he na al sys em o his mili a y se lemen , as well as i s e olu ion du ing he eigh een h cen u y. The ex ao dina y his o iog aphic p og ess o he las wo decades in s udies ha ela e o he na al policy o Spanish Ame ica du ing he eigh een h cen u y –and also o i s i al empi es –and i s economic and fiscal componen s has allowed us o d aw a e y accu a e pic u e o he cos –benefi a io o he main na al encla es, Co esponding au ho : José Manuel Se ano Ál a ez, Uni e sidad de Valladolid, Plaza del Campus s/n, Depa amen o de His o ia Mode na, Con empo ánea y Amé ica, Despacho 7, Valladolid 47011, Spain. Email: josemanuel.se ano@u a.es Special Issue: Ca ibbean Shipya ds IJMH In e na ional Jou nal o Ma i ime His o y 1–17 © The Au ho (s) 2024 A icle euse guidelines: sagepub.com/jou nals-pe missions DOI: 10.1177/08438714241264519 jou nals.sagepub.com/home/ijh na ies and he g ea impe ial s a egy. 1 Howe e , and as s ange as i may seem, he main po o New G anada, Ca agena de Indias, s ill awai s a monog aph de o ed o i s na al sys em, financial aspec s and how i fi s wi hin he con ex o he Spanish Ca ibbean o e en he impe ial nexus. This wo k, which is a om defini i e, aims o analyse he a ious na al aspec s o his po (supplies, financing) in a con ex in which Spain’s na al policy in Ame ica was clea ly expansi e, al hough mainly ocused on Ha ana, despi e he ac ha Ca agena was he mos impo an mili a y encla e in he sou he n Ca ibbean and a his o ical a ge o he enemies o he Spanish Empi e in Ame ica. The po and i s o ified sys em made Ca agena a po en ial de e en agains Spain’s enemies, 2 bu a he same ime i was a magne ha a ac ed hese enemies, due o i s unique s a egic posi ion and me can ile weal h. 3 E en du ing he second hal o he se en een h cen u y, in a con ex o economic con ac ion and decline, 16 flee s o gal- leons a i ed in Ca agena, as well as a o al o 810 ships o a ious sizes, each o which had o pay i s co esponding en y ax (almoja i azgo). Wi h an annual a e age o some 50,000 pesos be ween 1645 and 1699, 4 he income gene a ed by he me can ile ci cui , de i ed om he a i al o galleons and me chan ships, ans o med Ca agena in o one o he main ‘keys’o he Ca ibbean, 5 he loss o which would ha e been ca a- s ophic. Howe e , despi e he expendi u e on i s na al p o ec ion sys em –almos 800,000 pesos in he las 55 yea s o he se en een h cen u y 6 – he si ua ion a he begin- ning o he eigh een h cen u y was no e y eassu ing, wi h an endemic sho age o good ships, p o isions and pe sonnel des ined o sea a ing wo k. 1. Jacques A. Ba bie , ‘Indies Re enues and Na al Spending: The Cos o Colonialism o he Spanish Bou bons, 1763–1805’,Jah buch ü Geschich e on S aa , Wi s cha , und Gesellscha La einame ikas, 21 (1984), 171–88; Ma ía Baudo Mon oy, ‘Polí ica na al y mo ilización de ecu sos pa a la de ensa colonial al inicio de la Gue a de la O eja de Jenkins (1739–1740)’, in Poli emo Ediciones, ed., Expediciones na ales españolas en el siglo XVIII (Mad id, 2014), 37–62; F ank B oeze, Ma i ime His o y a he C oss oads: A C i ical Re iew o Recen His o iog aphy (Ox o d, 2017); Osca C uz Ba ney, ‘El égimen ju ídico de los gua dacos as no ohispanos en la segunda mi ad del siglo XVIII’, Re is a de His o ia Na al, No. 60 (1998), 45–62; Jan Gle e, Wa and he S a e in Ea ly Mode n Eu ope: Spain, he Du ch Republic and Sweden as Fiscal-Mili a y S a es, 1500– 1660 (London, 2002); Allan J. Kue he, ‘La c isis na al en iempo de Ca los IV’,Bole ín Real Academia Se illana de Buenas Le as, 42 (2014), 269–82; José An onio Ocampo, ‘Apun es pa a un es udio de las ue zas na ales su iles españolas (ss. XVIII-XIX)’, Re is a de His o ia Na al, No. 104 (2009), 7–48; Da id Pa o , The Business o Wa : Mili a y En e p ise and Mili a y Re olu ion in Ea ly Mode n Eu ope (Ox o d, 2012). 2. Rodol o Sego ia Salas, Las o ificaciones de Ca agena de Indias: His o ia y es a egia (Bogo á, 1992). 3. Ra al Reiche , ‘La o ja del impe io ul ama ino: El sis ema de ensi o y la ida soldadesca en los p esidios del G an Ca ibe en el siglo XVII: Caso de la gua nición de La Habana’, Secuencia, No. 108 (2020), 4–7. 4. José Manuel Se ano Ál a ez, ‘Gas o mili a y si uados en Ca agena de Indias, 1645–1699’, in Ca agena de Indias en el siglo XVII (Ca agena de Indias, Se ille Uni e si y, 2007), 285–96. 5. Juan Manuel Zapa e o, La gue a del Ca ibe en el siglo XVIII (Mad id, 1990), 116–17. 6. Se ano Ál a ez, ‘Gas o mili a ’, 307. 2In e na ional Jou nal o Ma i ime His o y 0(0) To alle ia e his si ua ion, specific axes we e c ea ed a he end o he se en een h cen u y and con inued du ing mos o he eigh een h cen u y o und he Ca agena na al complex, 7 such as a fi e-pe -cen ax on damages, a wo-pe -cen ax on he en y and exi o goods, and a wo-pe -cen ax on wine. 8 Likewise, he easu y o Ca agena had been endowed wi h a specific und o he income and expenses o he na y, which was in ope a ion un il he middle o he eigh een h cen u y. This is unique because, adi ionally, mili a y e enues and expenses we e channelled and dis ibu ed based on he p inciple o cen aliza ion in a single oyal easu y. The ac ha Ca agena had a s uc u e o na al expenses sepa a e om he main easu y has only one simila coun e pa – he case o Ha ana, he o he majo po and shipya d in he Ca ibbean. 9 Wha is pe haps su p ising is ha he in e es in p o iding Ca agena wi h a fi s line o de ence on he seaboa d came om a a . In 1639, Mad id o de ed he pu chase o h ee ships, which we e o be paid o by he ci y and i s comme cial class om he p ofi s om he ade in ensla ed people, bu in he end only wo could be acqui ed. 10 The si ua ion did no imp o e wi h he c ea ion o he A mada de Ba lo en o in 1640 –which om he 1670s had one o i s bases in Ca agena –because o a lack o financial means. 11 The imes when he Ca agena galleys se ed as an e ec i e p o ec i e bel agains smuggling and p i a ee s a he end o he six een h and beginning o he se en een h cen u y we e gone by he eigh een h cen u y. 12 I should be no ed a his poin ha he Ca agena galleys had been p ac ically disman led in p ac ice in he 1610s, 13 al hough in he ollow- ing decade unsuccess ul a emp s we e made o esu ec hem. 14 As a esul , when Ba on de Poin is appea ed in on o he walls o Ca agena in 1697, he li e ally s olled in wi h o al impuni y and wi hou a na al de ence –which was o he - wise almos non-exis en –pu ing up he sligh es esis ance. The cap u e and sacking o he encla e e y possibly ep esen ed i s lowes poin in e ms o i s de ensi e capaci y. 15 7. This na y does no e e o specific ships pe manen ly based in Ca agena bu o he ships o he A mada de Ba lo en o ha a i ed in po om ime o ime and o small essels o he figh agains smuggling. 8. A chi o Gene al de Indias (he ea e , AGI), Con adu ía, 1407, Main T easu y o Ca agena de Indias. 9. José Manuel Se ano Ál a ez, El as ille o de La Habana en el siglo XVIII: His o ia y cons ucción na al, 1700–1805 (Mad id, 2018), 126–32. 10. AGI, Con adu ía, 1406, RO, 26 May 1639. 11. Bibiano To es Ramí ez, La A mada de Ba lo en o (Se ille, 1981), 72–7. 12. Sebas ián Amaya Palacios, ‘Las gale as de Ca agena de Indias (1578–1624)’,Re is a de His o ia Na al, No. 138 (2017), 35–41. 13. AGI, San a Fe, 38, Le e om Go e no Diego de Acuña o he King, 12 July 1615. 14. Sebas ián Amaya Palacios, Las gale as de Tie a Fi me (1578–1612): Fiscalidad, come - cio, abas ecimien o y p oyección del pode na al cas ellano en el Ca ibe Su (La Rábida, 2023), 241–8. 15. An onio Espino López, ‘A mas pa a las Indias: El p oblema del suminis o de a mas y la de ensa colonial du an e el einado de Ca los II’,Re is a Complu ense de His o ia de Amé ica, 45 (2019), 189–210; Rica do Bo e o Londoño, ‘De Poin is y la ep esen ación ex ual de la expedición a Ca agena en 1697: Tipología discu si a, ambigüedad y p agma- ismo ascenden al’,F on e as de la His o ia, 14 (2009), 368–90. Se ano Ál a ez 3 This should no come as a su p ise since, in he 1670s, Hen y Mo gan had also aken Po obelo easily, wi h no opposi ion om Spanish na al o ces. 16 I is s iking ha he main po in he sou he n Ca ibbean lacked i s own na y om he 1630s a e he disappea ance o i s galleys and ha , o he 50,000 pesos es ima ed o be ea ned annually o i s na al sys em, 17 i a ely came close o his figu e in he las decades o he se en een h cen u y. Fo example, be ween 1680 and 1698, he a e age annual income o he ships o Ca agena did no exceed 15,000 pesos, 18 alling sho o he ba e minimum o he main enance o i s de ence sys em. Collapse and a slow eco e y Ca agena was s ill smoulde ing a e Poin is’s a ack when, in Oc obe 1698, a la ge g oup o Sco s, belonging o he Sco ish Company o T ade wi h A ica and he Indies ( ounded in 1695), se led in he Da ien. Needless o say, he opposi ion om he Spanish was, once again, non-exis en . This ‘peace ul’occupa ion o such an impo an e i o y demons a ed how weak he hypo he ical Spanish squad ons o he Ca ibbean we e; i is s iking how fi e ships c owded wi h some 1,200 colonis s sailed in on o he wes e n flank o Ca agena wi hou encoun e ing he sligh es obs acle. The inse ion o enemies o Spain, wi h he fi m in en ion o s aying – hey e en ch is ened he occupied e i o y wi h he name o New Caledonia –posed he isk o un o eseeable consequences o his pa o Tie a Fi me. The coas al s ip occupied by he Sco s, acing he Ca ibbean, was only a ew ens o kilome es away om Po obelo, loca ed o he no h, while Ca agena de Indias was loca ed o he eas , less han a day’s sailing away. Fo mo e han a cen u y, he galleons a i ing in Ca agena had been depa ing la e o celeb a e he amous ade ai in Po obelo. 19 This mean ha he Sco ish se lemen was inse ed as a wedge igh be ween he Ca agena–Po obelo axis, endange ing he en i e me can ile ci cui o he sou he n Ca ibbean coas and consequen ly pu ing a se ious isk he income ha bo h encla es ecei ed a e he a i al o he galleons om Eu ope. In his con ex , he ecen ly appoin ed go e no o Ca agena, Juan Díaz Pimien a, 20 could no ha e had a wo se s a o his manda e, especially since he was s ill in Spain when he Sco ish occupa ion ook place. Howe e , his go e no , a seasoned mili a y ca ee o fice and knigh o he Mili a y O de o Cala a a, 21 e used o s and idly by, e en wi h he knowledge ha , as he lea ned sho ly he ea e , Spain was planning o send a suppo squad on o dislodge he Sco s. Indeed, on 17 Ma ch 1699, he flee le 16. K is E. Lane, ‘Co sa ios, pi a as y la de ensa de Ca agena de Indias en el siglo XVI’,Bole ín Cul u al y Bibliog áfico, 44 (2007), 103–10. 17. AGI, Con adu ía, 1433, Accoun ing Repo , 16 Feb ua y 1648. 18. To es Ramí ez, La A mada de Ba lo en o, 258. 19. En ique a Vila Vila , ‘Las e ias de Po obelo: Apa iencia y ealidad del come cio con indias’,Anua io de Es udios Ame icanos, 39 (1982), 275–337; Al edo Cas ille o, Es uc u as sociales y económicas de Ve agua desde sus o ígenes his ó icos: Siglos XVI y XVII (Panama, 1967). 20. AGI, San a Fe, 998, Appoin men as Go e no , 17 June 1698. 21. Lino Dua e Le el, His o ia pa ia (Ca acas, 1911), 209. 4In e na ional Jou nal o Ma i ime His o y 0(0) Cadiz, comp ising fi e ships and led by Diego de Pe edo, Duke o In an ado, wi h abou 500 men and 100 pieces o a ille y On 6 June, a e a oyage ha included a s op in Pue o Rico o ake on wa e and disemba k dozens o sick men, he a i ed in Ca agena de Indias wi h he new go e no , Díaz Pimien a, on boa d. 22 Wi h unusual speed and e ficiency, he go e no emba ked on his new job he day a e a i ing in he ci y, 23 and was able o ga he o ces ha , oge he wi h hose sen by land by Coun de Canillas, he p esiden o Panama, 24 made he in ude s capi ula e almos wi hou esis ance on 13 Ap il 1700. 25 Howe e , he au ho i ies in Spain did no ha e much confidence in he e ficiency o he es less Díaz Pimien a and, wi hou ha ing exac knowledge o wha was going on –o pe haps in an icipa ion o England suppo ing he Sco s om Jamaica 26 –a new na al o ce was o ganized and sen in he summe o 1700. This expedi ion, one o he la ges cons i u ed o Ame ica in decades, consis ed o eigh wa ships and wo auxilia y ships ca ying mo e han 4,700 men (seamen and in an y) and o e 500 pieces o a ille y. Commanded by Admi al Ped o Fe nández Na a e e, wi h Admi al Ma eo de Laya in cha ge o he na al o ces, he expedi ion le Cadiz on 19 June 1700. 27 To he su - p ise o bo h admi als, when hey a i ed in Ca agena, hei se ices we e no longe needed. Consequen ly, a e lea ing wo o he wa ships and he auxilia ies in po and disemba king he oops, hey u ned back and, in Ma ch 1701, hey we e ancho ing again in Cadiz. 28 Undoub edly, his was one o he mos poin less and cos ly na al e o s in he p emode n na al his o y o he Ca ibbean. Indeed, such a show o o ce had cos a s agge ing 700,000 pesos, almos hal o which had been financed by he Se illian Consula e. 29 I is impo an o add ess he p oblem o he na al financing o Ca agena du ing he ansi ion om he la e se en een h cen u y o he fi s decades o he eigh een h cen u y. Ca agena was ne e a pe manen base o na al o ces be ween he disappea - ance o i s galleys and he slow inse ion o he coas gua d in he 1720s. This ep e- sen ed an eno mous handicap o a ci y ha owed e e y hing o he sea and ha , due o i s me can ile significance, had su e ed –and was o su e –innume able a acks. Al hough, in heo y, i was one o he bases o he A mada de Ba lo en o, in p ac ice, his squad on, which was in o al disa ay a ound 1700, cen ed i s ac i - i ies on he Ve ac uz–Ha ana axis. 22. A chi o His ó ico de la Nobleza, Osuna, CT.121, D.11, Le e om Pe eda, 29 Augus 1699. 23. Julie O , Sco land, Da ien and he A lan ic Wo ld, 1698–1700 (Edinbu gh, 2018), 106. 24. Guille mo Céspedes del Cas illo, ‘La de ensa mili a del is mo de Panamá a fines del siglo XVII y comienzos del XVIII’,Anua io de Es udios Hispanoame icanos, 1 (1952), 246. 25. Pablo Emilio Pé ez-Mallaina Bueno, Polí ica na al española en el A lán ico, 1700–1715 (Se ille, 1982), 389. 26. I should be emembe ed ha un il he Ac o Union (1707), which legally c ea ed he G ea B i ain, Sco land and England, as independen kingdoms, we e echnically sepa a e, and England was a peace wi h Spain a his ime. 27. AGI, Panama, 109, Le e om Admi al Ped o Fe nández Na a e e, 19 June 1700. 28. Pé ez-Mallaina Bueno, Polí ica na al española, 389. 29. AGI, Con a ación, 3232, Lis o Funds, 1 June 1701. Se ano Ál a ez 5 The wa ships ha usually a i ed a he po we e ei he he galleons ha accompanied and p o ec ed he flee s a i ing om Spain o ships ha made sho s ays. Only occasion- ally did i ecei e pe manen uni s o p o ec ion, and always in he con ex o wa a e. P obably he bes -known case is he a i al o Blas de Lezo in 1737 wi h he ships San Felipe,Á ica,D agón and Conquis ado . 30 In c i ical si ua ions, flee s such as ha o Fe nández Na a e e usually abandoned po a e a sho s ay. Al hough Ca agena echnically had an independen easu y o na al expenses, he in e mi en a i al o ships and he non-exis ence o pe manen flee s –apa om some e y small g oups o sloops –made i p ac ically impossible o main ain a s eady s eam o income. F om he poin o iew o he au ho i ies, i did no make sense o make subs an- ial unds a ailable when he e we e no ships o epai , main ain o build. Unlike Guayaquil, 31 and especially Ha ana, 32 no la ge wa ships we e e e buil in Ca agena, as he ci y p e e ed o build and main ain i s o ifica ions. 33 Fo hese easons, he financing o he ships ha spo adically a i ed in Ca agena depended mo e on ex e nal sou ces o income. The Se illian Consula e, which was he mos in e es ed in he p o ec ion o ade wi h Ca agena, unde ook o pay mo e han 200,000 pesos om he 1670s onwa ds o all de ensi e flee s in he Ca ibbean, 34 which na u ally included hose o Ca agena. The ci y i sel was o con ibu e 32,000 pesos, which, in heo y, San a Fe was o send o he coas o easons o p o ec ion. Howe e , hese paymen s we e ne e ully made and, a he beginning o he eigh een h cen u y, he deb amoun ed o se e al ens o housands o pesos. One way o mi iga e he financial challenges aced by he Ca ibbean de ensi e flee s was o he Andalusian me chan s o ad ance capi al –usually mo e han 100,000 pesos – which was pa o he capi al deduc ed om he axes o be paid in Ca agena when he comme cial flee s a i ed. 35 This s a egy did no wo k, especially because Ca agena had been uined a e Poin is’s assaul , and despi e he ac ha be ween 1700 and 1702 he own made a no able financial e o –la gely wi h money sen om San a Fe –and managed o finance na al expenses wi h mo e han 200,000 pesos. 36 In his poo financial si ua ion and in a con ex o conflic in he Ame icas and Spain because o he Wa o Spanish Succession (1700–1713), i is no su p ising ha he na al 30. José Manuel Se ano Ál a ez, ‘El éxi o en la escasez: La de ensa de Ca agena de Indias en 1741’,Vegue a, 16 (2016), 373. 31. Ma ía Luisa La iana, ‘La maes anza del as ille o de Guayaquil en el siglo XVIII’,Temas Ame icanis as, 4 (1984), 74–91; Jo ge O iz, ‘La maes anza na al en el Callao y Guayaquil coloniales’,Re is a del A chi o Gene al de la Nación, 34 (2019), 61–76. 32. Se ano Ál a ez, El as ille o. 33. Sego ia Salas, ‘Las o ificaciones’(Bogo á, 1982); Rodol o Sego ia Salas, El lago de pied a: La geopolí ica de las o ificaciones españolas del Ca ibe (1586–1786) (Bogo á, 2006); Juan Manuel Zapa e o, His o ia de las o ificaciones de Ca agena de Indias (Mad id, 1979); En ique Ma co Do a, Ca agena de Indias: Pue o y plaza ue e (Bogo á, 1988). 34. Pé ez-Mallaina Bueno, Polí ica na al española, 304. 35. Pé ez-Mallaina Bueno, Polí ica na al española, 307. 36. AGI, Con adu ía, 1377, specifically, 1700, 90,336 pesos; 1701, 68,871 pesos; 1702, 48,243 pesos. 6In e na ional Jou nal o Ma i ime His o y 0(0) sys em collapsed. In 1712, he Windwa d A mada only had one ship, 37 and p ac ically nobody could emembe he las ime one o he ships o his old and inope a i e na y had called a Ca agena. A he dawn o he eigh een h cen u y, he o me na al powe in he Spanish Ca ibbean had almos disappea ed, 38 and i was e iden ha in o de o main ain he Ame ican colonies, ho ough and a - eaching e o ms we e needed. Indeed, one o he p ima y objec i es o he adminis a i e and economic e o ms o he eigh een h cen u y was ine i ably he na y. Na al powe was a he epicen e o mos o he s uc u al changes ha ook place h oughou he cen u y, essen ially because he au ho i ies we e awa e o he undamen al ole ha na al powe played in sus aining Spain’s powe , especially in he Ca ibbean, which was in p ac ice whe e he impe ial powe o he s a e was ancho ed. The ine ec i e na al policy unde aken du ing he se en een h cen u y –adminis a i e and fiscal decen aliza ion, a mul iplici y o na ies and he di e sifica ion o cons uc ion models –had esul ed in he p ac ical dis- appea ance o Spain as a ma i ime powe a he beginning o he eigh een h cen u y. By 1694, he Spanish na al o ces had ba ely 10 ships, 39 which made i ine i able ha he F ench would occupy Ca agena de Indias in 1697 wi h ema kable ease and, om 1700, wi h hem as allies, he flee s o Louis XIV would ha e o be called on o sa egua d he oceanic ou es. Un il he a i al o he Bou bons, he business o he na y had been in he hands o he Council o he Indies and he Council o Wa , wi h nume ous clashes be ween he wo councils on how o deal wi h na al a ai s. In addi ion, he Council o he T easu y held ju isdic ion o e he financing o he Eu opean na al flee s and had a say in he na al flee s in he Ame icas, despi e he ac ha he la e , a leas in heo y, depended exclusi ely on unds aised in he Ame icas –a si ua ion ha esul ed in ic ion be ween ins i u ions and ju isdic ional igh s. The ine ec i eness o his h ee-pa y sys em did no become e iden un il he second hal o he se en een h cen u y. The chal- lenges p esen ed by England and F ance had as an immedia e consequence he ans e o he Eu opean ju isdic ional dispu e on o he Ame ican Ca ibbean wa e s, a a ime when he Indies was becoming a hea e o wa ope a ions. In his scena io, he posi ion o Ca agena de Indias as a gua an o o he na al de ence o he en i e sou he n Ca ibbean coas was i al. The fi s measu e o achie e an e ec i e adminis a i e and financial mode niza ion o na al a ai s wi h a iew o e i alizing Spanish ma i ime powe consis ed in s ipping he councils o he p e ious e a (which we e slow and inope a i e) o hei ju isdic ions and igh s and ans e ing hei powe s o a new ins i u ion: he Sec e a y o S a e and Sec e a ial O fice. In he ask o ins i u ionally es uc u ing Spain’s a med o ces –espe- cially i s na al o ces – he fi s goal was o con ol a s eady flow o e enue. Tha e enue was o become he basis o all na al e o ms and would be channelled and con olled o he benefi o he en i e na al ne wo k cen ed in he Ca ibbean. 37. AGI, Indi e en e Gene al, 571, Consejo de Indias, 11 July 1712. 38. Da id Goodman, El pode ío na al español: His o ia de la a mada española del siglo XVII (Ba celona, 2001), 362–5. 39. E. He nández Es e e, ‘Adminis ación y con abilidad en los buques de la Real A mada española: O denanza de 1735’,Re is a Memo ia,11–12 (2004), 6. Se ano Ál a ez 7 Fo his eason, he na al e o ms o he ea ly eigh een h cen u y had as hei p ima y objec i e –one migh e en say hei sole objec i e – he es uc u ing o he financial and fiscal model ha suppo ed he na y, adminis e ed di ec ly by he Sec e a ial O fice. These changes we e fi s implemen ed in Spain bu quickly a e wa ds also in he Ame icas, as he na y he e emained he main goal o he e o ms. The Wa o Spanish Succession had a decisi e e ec on he na y, which was simply submissi e o he designs o F ance, an ally o Spain in he conflic . The oops o he di e en Spanish na ies we e educed o a ew ships, which we e poo ly p epa ed and equipped, and mos ly e y old. The c ews we e sca ce and esou ces e en mo e limi ed. Ca agena de Indias was only able o in es he pal y sum o 30,000 pesos in na al de ence be ween 1705 and 1713. 40 In iew o he wa and he i ual abandonmen o he Ca ibbean flee s, he Can ab ian shipya ds – adi ionally shipbuilding ou le s o he Ca ibbean flee s un il he end o he se en een h cen u y – ound hemsel es almos pa alysed due o he lack o o de s as a consequence o delayed paymen s, fi es and enemy a acks. 41 The lack o na al esou ces was so d as ic ha i became necessa y o seize ships and essels belonging o p i a e me chan s o he wa . 42 A p oposal o build 20 wa iga es in 1706 and o he simila plans me wi h ailu e due o a lack o unding, e en hough i was in ended ha some o hese ships would se e in he de en- si e flee s in Ha ana and Ca agena. 43 A he same ime, he suppo o colonial Ame ica poli ically and economically was essen ial o he wa e o . The economic and fiscal ne wo k concen a ed in he ci cum-Ca ibbean made he main enance o i s main encla es 44 –including Ca agena de Indias and Ha ana, he sou he n and no he n hubs o na al powe in hese wa e s, espec i ely –a ma e o su i al o he s a e. Fo his eason, he main conce n when he new ins i u ional sys em o sec e a ies was aking shape was o add ess he financing needs in Ame ica. Be ween Feb ua y and No embe 1714, he sys em o sec e a ies was finally es ab- lished, wi h ou Sec e a ies o S a e and one Sec e a ial O fice, a gene al o e see o financial ma e s and a uni e sal in endan o assis him. 45 The ou minis ies ha we e hen c ea ed we e he Sec e a y o Wa , he Sec e a y o he Na y and he Indies, he Sec e a y o S a e and he Sec e a y o Jus ice. In addi ion o hese ins i u ions, he e was he gene al o e see , wi h he p ac ical unc ion o he Minis e o Finance. 40. AGI, Con adu ía, 1422. 41. C uz Apes egui, ‘A qui ec u a y cons ucción na ales en la España A lán ica, el siglo XVII y la p ime a mi ad del XVIII: Una nue a sis ema ización’, in, In e na ional Symposium on A chaeology o Medie al and Mode n Ships o Ibe ian-A lan ic T adi ion (Ox o d, 2000), 170. 42. Luis Na a o Ga cía, ‘La polí ica indiana’,inHis o ia Gene al de España y Amé ica (Mad id, 1983), ol. XI-1, 7. 43. José Quin e o González, La Ca aca: El p ime a senal ilus ado español (1717–1776) (Mad id, 2004), 27. 44. Se ano Ál a ez, El as ille o, 44. 45. José An onio Escude o, Los o ígenes del Consejo de Minis os en España, ol. 1 (Mad id, 1979), 49. 8In e na ional Jou nal o Ma i ime His o y 0(0) The old Councils -polysynodial sys em- we e elega ed o seconda y unc ions, mainly o jus ice, emp ying hem o poli ical con en . The new s uc u e c ea ed a p i ileged channel o con ac be ween he King and he sec e a y in cha ge o a specific sec e a ia .. The fi s Sec e a y o S a e and Sec e a y o he Na y and he Indies, Be na do Tinaje o, who was appoin ed on 3 Decembe 1714, 46 ini ia ed ex ensi e e o ms in na al a ai s wi h he o maliza ion o he Spanish na y – he A mada –in he eigh een h cen u y and he sup- p ession o he mul iple na ies ha had exis ed un il hen. He also cen alized he admin- is a ion and p o isioning o all wa ships in one minis y, ope a ing unde a single gene al in endan o he na y. The p io i y o his e o m was o e-es ablish Spanish independence in e ms o shipbuilding and he main enance and deploymen o na al esou ces, sepa a ely om F ench. The budge a y es ic ions imposed by he deb gene a ed by he end o he Wa o Spanish Succession, howe e , o ced he s a e o ely on he Ame ican colonies o pa ially implemen hese goals. Spanish shipya ds in Eu ope and he Ame icas we e used o e i alize na al powe , al hough he bu den o na al spending –a leas un il he mid eigh een h cen u y – es ed wi h he Ca ibbean. The s a egic need a ose o ha monize he financial po en ial in he Ame icas wi h he objec i e p oposed in Mad id in o de o achie e maximum esou ce e ficiency o na al de ence in he A lan ic. Ha ana’s ole as a shipbuilding si e con inued wi h he suppo o a s ong local eli e, whose comme cial in e es s in he p oduc ion o suga and obacco we e able o suppo , h ough axa ion, he na al s o es in Cuba. 47 In 1713, Mad id decided in a ou o a shipya d in Cuba, whe e all shipbuilding ac i i ies we e o be con- cen a ed. Al hough some ships we e buil in Guayaquil, 48 he eigh een h cen u y wi - nessed he building o la ge ships, h ough he hea y concen a ion o na al esou ces, in Ha ana. By he middle o he cen u y, close o hal o he Spanish na y’s ships we e buil in Cuba. 49 The concen a ion o shipbuilding in Ha ana elega ed Ca agena o a na al pos , a me e spec a o in he new Ca ibbean na al s a egy o he Spanish mona chy. This deci- sion, howe e , was no aken ligh ly. Tie a Fi me had demons a ed wi h he Da ien expedi ion ha i had e y limi ed esou ces and a deficien in as uc u e. Simul aneously, he epea ed ailu e o es ablish egula ai s a Po obelo, 50 mainly because B i ish smuggling s ood as an obs acle o Ca agena’s pa icipa ion in such ai s, o ced he Spanish au ho i ies o de elop a coas gua d sys em, which was less cos ly and easie o o ganize. The idea o a coas gua d ope a ing be ween Po obelo and Ca agena da ed back o 1717, bu lack o financing had made i impossible o de elop he sys em, pa icula ly because Ca agena e used o p o ide he necessa y 46. Dionisio A. Pe ona Tomás, Los o ígenes del Minis e io de Ma ina: La Sec e a ía de Es ado y del Despacho de Ma ina, 1714–1808 (Mad id, 1998), 389. 47. José Manuel Se ano and Allan J. Kue he, ‘La amilia O’Fa ill y la éli e habane a’,inLas éli es u banas en Hispanoamé ica (Se ille, Se ille Uni e si y, 2005), 204. 48. La iana, ‘La maes anza’, 83. 49. Se ano Ál a ez, El as ille o, 539–40. 50. AGI, Indi e en e, 2726, Lieu enan Gene al o he Na y Bal asa Gue a a o Vice oy o Pe u Diego Mo cillo, 14 Feb ua y 1722. Se ano Ál a ez 9 no only G ea B i ain, bu also F ance was hos ile o Spanish so e eign y in he Ca ibbean, and na al expenses eached as onomical figu es, lea ing Ca agena in ech- nical bank up cy. Be ween 1788 and 1808, he Ca agena na al sys em cos 5,157,790 pesos, abou 10 pe cen o Ca agena’s o al e enue. 94 A e 1790 and as a measu e o cu b expenses, he numbe o ships ope a ing ou o Ca agena dec eased, o cing he au ho i ies o San a Ma a o con ibu e wi h wha hey could o he weakened eas- u y. 95 Likewise, i was decided o send se e al ships o Ha ana, 96 whose financial muscle was appa en ly s onge han ha o Ca agena. Al hough he e enue om p i a ee ing be ween 1761 and 1809 amoun ed o 457,124 pesos, 97 his income was insu ficien o co e he deb s incu ed. Despi e he despe a e a emp s o he Na al Boa d o ha e he esiden s o Ca agena make ex ao dina y paymen s a e 1798, hey we e only able o con ibu e 41,000 pesos. 98 Cu iously, mos o he coas gua d’s expenses a ose om wages. The cos s o labou we e by a he bigges expense o he mili a y adminis a ion o Ca agena. Va ious epo s on he cos s o ships be ween 1789 and 1796 demons a e ha he wages o seamen and o fice s, on a e age, accoun ed o 46 pe cen o all expendi u e, he es being di ided among supplies, a ions and o he expenses. 99 Mo eo e , he sala ies we e infla ed. The commande o he na al base was paid mo e han 1,900 pesos pe annum, while he iga e’s ensign ecei ed 230 pesos and a simple sailo 62 pesos. Conside ing ha one a oba o bee (almos 12 kilog ammes) cos 11 eales ( ha is, less han one peso), 100 and one a oba o flou did no exceed wo pesos, 101 eal wages we e ela i ely high. I is pe haps o his eason ha Ca agena ne e had a sho - age o labou e s. Conclusion The na al de ence o Ca agena de Indias, and especially i s coas gua d sys em, ep e- sen ed an almos esidual elemen o he local mili a y adminis a ion in compa ison wi h he expendi u e on o ifica ions, pe manen ga isons and mili ias. In absolu e e ms, he na al de ence accoun ed o a me e eigh pe cen o he o al mili a y expend- i u e, wi h cos s concen a ed in he pe iod a e 1757. 102 Howe e , shipbuilding and epai s, as well as coas gua d asks, had a significan impac on he colony. Ma i ime ac i i ies played a decisi e ole in he las wo decades o he nine een h cen u y as hey o e ed con inuous and egula employmen , which was only compa able o he 94. Manzanilla Celis, ‘Los gua dacos as’, 407. 95. AGI, San a Fe, 906, Na al Boa d, 18 Ma ch 1790. 96. Manzanilla Celis, ‘Los gua dacos as’, 420. 97. AGI, San a Fe, 1097, 1098, 1099, 1100, 1101, 1102, 1103, 1207, 1208, 1209, 1210, 1211, 1212, 1227, 1228, 1229, 1230, 1231, Main T easu y o he Royal T easu y. 98. A chi o Gene al de Ma ina, Consignaciones, 7212, Repo , 1 Ap il 1798. 99. A chi o Gene al de Ma ina, Consignaciones, 7207. 100. The a oba is a simila uni o weigh o he bushel. 101. AGI, San a Fe, 1102; AGI, Cuba, 727, T easu y Books. 102. Se ano Ál a ez, Fo ificaciones, 276–7. 16 In e na ional Jou nal o Ma i ime His o y 0(0) labou o e ed by he sys em o o ifica ions. Employmen in he coas gua d and i s sup- po ing ac i i ies, as well as he wages o he c ews, played a c ucial ole in he de elop- men o an u ban ma ke d i en by high eal wages. The posi i e impac o he coas gua d on he local economy was o e shadowed by he pe manen lack o e enue and unds o main ain he na al de ence, wi h he consequen imposi ion o cons ain s on he expansion o ma i ime and na al ac i i ies. The au ho - i ies ailed o alloca e specific e enue s eams o suppo hese e o s. This si ua ion only changed wi h an inc ease in e enue a e he 1780s and he implemen a ion o comme - cial libe alism a e 1778, a measu e ha inc eased he numbe o ships calling a Ca agena and subsequen ly i s capaci y o cap u e income h ough comme cial axa ion. This new e enue was accompanied by a sha p inc ease in financial emi ances om Spanish Ame ican au ho i ies in San a Fe and Qui o. These exogenous emi ances o he Ca agena easu y acili a ed highe spending and helped o dec ease he le el o indeb edness incu ed by he local easu y. Al hough he deb s o he mili a y adminis- a ion o Ca agena exceeded one million pesos by 1800 –o which 30 pe cen co e- sponded o i s na al sys em –only he beginning o he p ocess o independence a e 1810 pu an end o ex e nal ans e s, esul ing in he collapse o public e enue –a de el- opmen ha ende ed Ca agena’s na al de ence inope a i e. Funding The au ho ecei ed no financial suppo o he esea ch, au ho ship and/o publica ion o his a icle. ORCID iD José Manuel Se ano Ál a ez h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-1935-9561 Au ho biog aphy José Manuel Se ano Ál a ez has a PhD in His o y om he Uni e si y o Se ille and is a p o- esso a he Uni e si y o Valladolid. He has augh a uni e si ies in Spain, he USA, he Czech Republic, Colombia and Chile. He is a specialis in he his o y o Ame ica, he economic his o y o he mode n age, and mode n his o y wi h an A lan ic p ofile. His p e e ed a eas o esea ch a e na al his o y, mili a y his o y and economic his o y, mainly o Ame ica in he se en een h and eigh een h cen u ies, wi h an emphasis on New G anada, wi h i s epicen e in Ca agena de Indias. He is he au ho o o e 75 academic publica ions, including se en books. Se ano Ál a ez 17