A description of the Irish in Seville merchants of the eighteenth century

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). 106 Fe nández Cha es, Manuel and Me cedes Game o Rojas. A Desc ip ion o he I ish in Se ille......................... 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). 107 Fe nández Cha es, Manuel and Me cedes Game o Rojas. A Desc ip ion o he I ish in Se ille......................... 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 108 Fe nández Cha es, Manuel and Me cedes Game o Rojas. A Desc ip ion o he I ish in Se ille......................... 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 8,024 109 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 110 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 . 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