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Early Loans to Spain

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At Spes non Fracta

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Abstract

With the coming to power of the House of Bourbon at the beginning of the eighteenth century, Spain commenced to raise itself from the state of decay into which it had sunk during the preceding century. A start was made with centralizing the machinery of government and reorganizing the civil service on modern lines.1

I wish that the house might always have as its motto ‘honour and profit’; but if either of these words must be erased, I would that it be the latter. Pierre César Labouchère to Vincent Nolte, 22nd January 1806.

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References

Chapter Nine Page 279

  1. J. Vicens Vives, An Economic History of Spain (Princeton, 1969), 475–476.

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  2. Ibid., 484, 486, 507, 547. Richard Herr, The Eighteenth-Century Revolution in Spain (Princeton, 1958), 11.

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  3. Vicens Vives, Economic History, 576-578 Herr, Revolution, 121-122

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  4. Vicens Vives, Economic History, 585-586 Herr, Revolution, 146. Earl J.Hamilton, War and Prices in Spain (Harvard Economic Studies, LXXXXI), Cambridge, Mass., 1947, 78-79. According to Hamilton, a syndicate of Spanish, French and Dutch merchants provided funds for an issue of vales. The Hope archives reveal no evidence that the Company was concerned in this.

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Page 280

  1. Concerning De Cabarrus as a promulgator of enlightened ideas: Jean Sarrailh, L’Espagne éclairée de la seconde moitié du XVIII siècle (Paris, 1954), passim. Concerning the Bank of San Carlos: Earl. J. Hamilton, ‘The foundation of the Bank of Spain,’ The Journal of Political Economy, LIII (1945), 101.

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  2. G.A. Amsterdam, Not. Arch., 12441-719, 12444-796, 12454-592. In War and Prices in Spain Hamilton points to loans totalling more than two million guilders for Spanish account in Amsterdam in the period 1778–1880 (p. 78). It is possible that he was referring to the three canal loans; but it is also conceivable that the reference was to a number of royal ‘warrants’ decreeing loans which in fact were not negotiated. Herr, Revolution, 132-133. Vicens Vives, Economic History, 515, 586.

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  3. The loans concerned were furnished by Badin & Co. on 1st March 1770 and 1st March 1773. The king of Spain gave a permanent guarantee in respect of the loans obtained from Echenique Sanchez & Co.

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  4. G.A. Amsterdam, Not. Arch., 12464-558, 559. The issuing houses received commission of 2 % on interest payments and 1 % on repayments of principal Although the loan was repaid in accordance with the terms, a large number of bonds were not tendered by the prescribed date. On 19th May 1797, Paulus Taay, who was then a manager of Hope & Co., arranged for the official cancellation of 434 bonds; at the same time, Hogguer Grand & Co tendered 325 bonds for cancellation. On 19th May 1801 Hogguer Grand & Co. had a further 79 bonds cancelled.

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Page 281

  1. E.J. Hamilton, The Foundation of the Bank of Spain,’ 165. Grootboek 1783: 225, 352.

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  2. Grootboek 1789: 38, 304. Grootboek 1790: 60. Grootboek 1791: 337. Grootboek 1792: 81.

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  3. Labouchère’s judgement, as expressed in his instructions to William Gordon Coesvelt, 22nd July 1807. W.G.C. 1.

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  4. G.A. Amsterdam, Not. Arch., 17984-95, 96. Of the 6,000 bonds, the following numbers were cancelled on the dates shown: 24th October 1800: 1,193; 15th July 1801: 601; 4th March 1802: 592; 8th December 1802: 500; 9th March 1803: 89; 7th October 1803: 16; 7th December 1803: 2; 5th January 1804: 499; 8th February 1804: 63; 9th April 1804: 21; 18th July 1804:4; 28th September 1804: 1; 5th October 1804: 1; 21st November 1804: 411; 6th December 1804: 85; 4th January 1805: 38; 8th February 1805: 36; 4th April 1805:18; 8th August 1805: 7; 15th October 1805: 3; 4th November 1805: 2; 21st November 1805: 427; 1 oth January 1806: 67.

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Page 282

  1. Letter from P.C.Labouchère to W.G.Coesvelt. W.G.C. 1. R.Altamira, A History of Spain (New York, 1949), 514. Herr, Revolution, 286-287.

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  2. Herr, Revolution, 310, 314, 317, 323, 335. Altamira, History of Spain, 515.

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  3. Vicens Vives, Economic History, 586-587. Hamilton, War and Prices, 85.

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Page 283

  1. Letters of 13th January, 3rd, 20th February, 6th, 17th March, 26th May, 20th October 1798 from H.A.Insinger, Amsterdam, to Hope & Co., London.

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  2. J A.Sillem, Het leven van Mr.Johan Valckenaer, n (Amsterdam, 1876), 143, 144. Letter from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to W.G.Coesvelt, W.G.C. 1.

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  3. G.A. Amsterdam, Not. Arch., 18001-285, 286. Five drafts on the Mexican Treasury, totalling 1,319,000 piastres, were to be given as additional security.

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  4. G.A. Amsterdam, Not. Arch., 18007-103, 104.

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  5. G.A. Amsterdam, Not. Arch., 18009-375, 376. Additional security was provided in the form of drafts on the Mexican Treasury totalling 1,319,000 piastres.

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Page 284

  1. G.A. Amsterdam, Not. Arch., 18012-385, 386. Five drafts on the Mexican Treasury, totalling 1,800,000 piastres, were given as additional security. Letter of 22nd July 1807 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to W.G.Coesvelt, W.G.C. 1.

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  2. Letter of 22nd July 1807 to W.G.Coesvelt, Paris, W.G.C. 1.

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  3. A.Fugier, Napoléon et l’spagne, 1799–1808,1 (Paris, 1930), 197-245.

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  4. Letter of 22nd July 1807 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to W.G.Coesvelt, W.G.C. 1. Letter of 4th March 1803 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to Sir F.Baring, London. Letter of 2nd August 1804 to the Marquis de la Colonilla, Paris, A 11, 308.

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  5. Fugier, Napoléon et l’Espagne, 1, 283.

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Page 285

  1. G. J.Ouvrard, Mémoires sur sa vie et ses diverses opérations financières (Paris, 1826), 75. Arthur Lévy, Un grand profiteur de guerre sous la Révolution, l’Empire et la Restauration; G.J.Ouvrard (Paris, 1929), 94. Georges Weill, ‘Le financier Ouvrard,’ Revue Historique, XLIII, 127 (Paris, 1918), 38. Otto Wolff, Die Geschäfte des Herrn Ouvrard (Frankfurt am Main, 1932), 104. The majority of authors of works concerning Ouvrard have drawn on his memoirs for material. These memoirs are unreliable in terms of both facts and figures. An example of this is given in the text.

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  2. Gabriel Ramon, Histoire de la Banque de France (Paris, 1929), 58. A.Thiers, Histoire du Consulat et de l’Empire, 1 (Brussels, 1845), 13-14; 11 (Brussels, 1846), 8-9. Fugier, Napoléon et l’Espagne, 1, 284.

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  3. Wolff, Geschäfte Ouvrard, 105. Ouvrard, Mémoires, 78. Thiers, Histoire du Consulat, 1, 13. Weill, ‘Le financier Ouvrard,’ 38.

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  4. Ibid., 33. Wolff, Geschäfte Ouvrard, 64-76.

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Page 286

  1. Arthur Lévy, Un grand profiteur, 82-83.

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  2. L. de Lanzac Laborie, Le monde des affaires et du travail (Paris, 1910), 14-15.

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  3. Manger, Recherches, 128, 130, 132.

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  4. Van Winter, Aandeel, 11, 386. Letters of 18th May, 1st June, 2nd, 30th July, 17th, 31st August, 14th September 1804 from Baguenault & Co., Paris, to P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam. Letters of 15th March, 5th, 19th July, 26th, 30th August, 13th September 1804 to Baguenault & Co., Paris, A 11, 134, 261, 289, 330, 353, 377.

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Page 287

  1. Letter of 2nd August 1804 to Desprez, Paris, A 11, 307.

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  2. Letters of 10th and 24th August 1804 from A.Baguenault & Co., Paris, to P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam. Letter of 19th July 1804 to Baguenault, Paris, A 11, 289.

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  3. ‘Cedule Royale’ issued by the King of Spain and his Council on 6th June 1804.

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  4. Letters of 10th and 24th May 1804 to the Marquis de la Colonilla, Paris, A 11, 200, 218.

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  5. Letter of 2nd July 1804 to the Marquis de la Colonilla, Paris, A11, 252. Letter of 28th July 1804 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to A.Baring, London.

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Page 288

  1. Letters of 20th and 27th August, 17th and 24th September 1804 to the Marquis de la Colonilla, Paris, An, 308, 338, 351, 385, 395. Letters of 8th, 15th, 22nd and 25th October, 15th and 29th November 1804, and 4th March 1805 to the Marquis de la Colonilla, Paris, A11, 414, 420, 428, 437, 474, 493, 564. Fugier, Napoléon et l’Espagne, 1, 316-317.

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  2. Ibid., 11, 9-10. Wolff, Geschäfte Ouvrard, 110, 114. Thiers, Histoire du Consulat, 11, 12.

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  3. Fugier, Napoléon et l’Espagne, 11, 10-11. Wolff, Geschäfte Ouvrard, 115.

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Page 289

  1. Ibid., Dokumente, n and m, p. 302. In Ouvrard’s mémoires it is made to appear that a covenant was entered into directly with the king on 26th November 1804 (Wolff, 115-117).

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  2. The Hope archives contain a copy of an agreement between Espinosa and François Ouvrard, the terms of which differ widely from those of the covenant with the king, as quoted by Ouvrard. The latter refers only to a commission of 1% on shipments of gold and silver. Only with the conclusion of the supplementary covenant on 4th December 1804 (of which Hope’s version and the one in Ouvrard’s memoirs are almost identical) were commissions for commercial transactions laid down. It appears more likely that Charles IV confirmed the monopoly granted to François Ouvrard & Co. in a decree, but had the actual partnership agreement between Ouvrard and Espinosa drawn up separately. According to the Hope version of the text of the covenant of 26th November, François Ouvrard & Co. were obliged to pay import and export duties to the Spanish Treasury (Art. 18).

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  3. Stuart Weems Bruchey, Robert Oliver, Merchant of Baltimore, 1783–1819 (The John Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science; Series LXXIV, NO. I, Baltimore, 1956), 263. Vicens Vives, Economic History, 580.

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  4. Ouvrard, Mémoires, 11, 338-342. 4th December 1804: supplementary articles relating to the covenant of 26th November 1804, which concerned trade with the colonies ruled by the Spanish king.

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Page 290

  1. Fugier, Napoléon et l’Espagne, 11, 11-12. Lanzac de Laborie, Monde, 200.

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  2. Fugier, Napoléon et l’Espagne, 11, 15. Ouvrard, Mémoires, 108-109.

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  3. Letter of 4th March 1805 to Hottinguer, Paris, A 11, 570. Letter of 4th March 1805 to Baguenault & Co., Paris, A n, 571.

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  4. Fugier, Napoléon et l’Espagne, 1, 265-267.

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Page 291

  1. Letter of 4th March 1805 to Baguenault & Co., Paris, A 11, 571.

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Page 292

  1. Ouvrard, Mémoires, 113. Letter of 14th February 1805 to Desprez, Paris. Nolte, Fünfzig Jahre, 79-80. Nolte asserts in his memoirs that he heard the story from the lips of Labouchère. Our story makes it abundantly clear that Labouchère was completely au fait with the situation when Ouvrard arrived, and had already laid the foundations for the transaction. Nolte’s manuscript dates from round about 1850, which was 45 years later. It is conceivable that, wittingly or unwittingly, he borrowed the story from Ouvrard’s memoirs.

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Page 293

  1. 6th May 1805. Agreement between Hope & Co. of Amsterdam and François Ouvrard & Co. of Bordeaux (the latter represented by François Ouvrard, who was at that moment in Amsterdam) relating to trade with the Spanish colonies. Letter of 22nd July 1807 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to W.G.Coesvelt. During Ouvrard’s stay in Amsterdam, Hope & Co. held exploratory discussions with persons who were being considered for the post of agent. The name of Parish already appeared in the supplementary agreement with Auguste Ouvrard dated 6th May 1805.

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  2. 13th September 1805. Elaboration of Article 7 of the contract dated 6th May 1805. Cop. VI-fa-85.

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  3. This ensued from Article 8 of the agreement of 6th May 1805. Nolte, Fünfzig Jahre, 80, states that the commission on the piastres was 5 %; this is incorrect.

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Page 294

  1. Letter of 22nd July 1807 from P.C.Labouchère, Amsterdam, to W.G.Coesvelt.

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  2. 6th May 1805. Agreement between Hope & Co. and François Ouvrard & Co. In this it was stipulated that David Parish should receive a ‘commission de gestion’ equal to 15 % of the sum of the nett profit on the Hope-Ouvrard account. Parish must therefore have formally accepted the post of general agent by 6th May.

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  3. Three letters from F. Ouvrard & Co., Amsterdam to Hope & Co., Amsterdam. Matters centred around 259 drafts on Don Lorenzo Angulo y Guardamino of Mexico, totalling 1,939,003 piastres. These had been received from Gardoqui Neveux & Co. of Madrid and were payable in Vera Cruz to the order of Don Manuel Sixto Espinosa, whose blank endorsement they bore. On 8th May 1805 Hope & Co. received from François Ouvrard & Co. duplicate copies of the orders relating to trade with the Spanish colonies which the Spanish Court had issued to the Viceroy, the Governor and the Captain General of New Spain; the Viceroy, the Governor and the Captain General of Cuba; the Governor, the Captain General and the Intendant of the province of Venezuela; the Captain General and the Intendant of Buenos Aires; and the Spanish envoy to the United States.

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  1. Rijksuniversiteit te Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Marten Gerbertus Buist

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© 1974 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands

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Buist, M.G. (1974). Early Loans to Spain. In: At Spes non Fracta. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8858-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8858-6_9

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