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:
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DOI: 10.1177/08438714241264519
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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