¹ An excellent study of the increase of exports from the New World to Spain following the Edict of Free Commerce in 1778 is Fisher, John, ‘The Imperial Response to “Free Trade”: Spanish Imports from Spanish America, 1778–1796’, Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 17 part 1 (05 1985), pp. 35–78,CrossRefGoogle Scholarpassim.

² Lynch, John, Spanish Colonial Administration, 1782–1810. The Intendant System in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (London: 1958), p. 143Google Scholar. Fisher gives a slightly lower figure of about 5, 124, 300 pesos for platine exports to Spain in 1796. Fisher, op cit., p. 78.

³ Cooney, Jerry W., ‘Paraguayan Astilleros and the Platine Merchant Marine, 1796–1806’, The Historian, vol. 43 No. 1 (11 1980), pp. 57–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁴ This study has little to do directly with the matter of the ‘neutral commerce’–neutrals carrying goods into Buenos Aires during the war years in exchange for local products. Nonetheless, that controversial trade was at times related to the question of the platine merchant marine. For an overview of that trade from the Spanish viewpoint, see Barbier, Jacques A., ‘Peninsular Finance and Colonial Trade: the Dilemma of Charles IV's Spain’, Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 12 no. 1 (05 1980)CrossRefGoogle Scholar, passim. For the viewpoint of Buenos Aires, Sierra, Vicente D., Historia de la Argentina. Fin del régimen de gobernadores y creación del Virreinato de Río de la Plata (1700–1800) (2nd ed., Buenos Aires, 1967), vol. 3, pp. 536–550Google Scholar; and Sergio Villalobos, R., Comercio y contrabando en el Río de la Plata y Chile, 1700–1811 (2nd ed., Buenos Aires, 1971) pp. 70–85.Google Scholar

⁵ ‘Reglamento y aranceles para el comercio libre de España a Indias (12 de Octubre de 1778)’ in Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Documentos para la historia argentina. Comercio de Indias. Comercio libre (1778–1791) (Buenos Aires, 1915–), vol. vi, pp. 14–15.Google Scholar Hereafter this series will be cited as DHA.

⁶ ‘Real orden concediendo a Españoles y Estranjeros…’. San Lorenzo, November 24, 1791 in DHA, Comercio de Indias. Consulado, Comercio de Negros y de Estranjeros (1791–1809) (Buenos Aires, 1915– ) vol. vii, p. 3.Google Scholar

⁷ ‘Real orden concediendo facilidades para el envio de Negros entre los puertos de Africa y América’, Aranjuez, 24 January 1793 and repeated in ‘Real orden declarando libres de dros las compras…’ Aranjuez, 20 March 1797, both in DHA, vol. vii, pp. 13, 123–4 respectively.

⁸ The best, though yet unsatisfactory, treatment of Romero is Galmarini, Hugo Raúl, ‘Comercio y burocracia colonial: a propósito de Tomás Antonio Romero’, Investigaciones y Ensayos (Buenos Aires), vol. 28 (enero–junio 1980), pp. 407–39, and vol. 29 (julio–diciembre 1980), pp. 387–424.Google Scholar

⁹ ‘Memoria del Virrey Nicolás de Arredondo’, Buenos Aires, 16 March 1795 in Sigfrido Radaelli, A. (ed.), Memorias de los Virreyes del Río de la Plata (Buenos Aires, 1945), pp. 392–4Google Scholar; and ‘Real orden.–Concediendo a d. n Tomás Romero…’, San Lorenzo, 4 October 1793 in de la Nación, Archivo General, Documentos referentes a la Guerra de la Independencia… (Buenos Aires, 1914), vol. 1, p. 276.Google Scholar

¹⁰ Pedro Duval, Buenos Aires, July 8, 1796 in Archivo General de la Nación, 9–49–3–2 (Escribanía de Marina). These three legajos of the Escribanía de Marina, 9–49–3–2, 9–49–3–3, and 9–49–3–4 contain a wealth of material touching upon the maritime activities of the merchants of the Río de la Plata in the era 1796–1806. This little-used source contains such diverse items as registry of ships, permits for navigation, deposits of goods in the customs, and other legal documents pertaining to trade. It will hereafter be cited as AGN 9–49–3–2(EM).

¹¹ For the first year of large-scale slaving expeditions–1796–see the Patentes de Navegación in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM). For the slave trade in Buenos Aires in this era, see de Struder, Elena F. S., El trato de negros en el Río de la Plata durante el siglo XVIII (Buenos Aires, 1958), pp. 278–322.Google Scholar

¹² Manuel José Fonseca, Buenos Aires, 15 November 1796, and Pedro Duval, Buenos Aires, 10 December 1796 in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM). That craft, as would others in the future, arrived in the Río de la Plata with a cargo of slaves legally purchased in Brazil.

¹³ ‘Real orden. Permitiendo en Buques nacionales o extrangeros…’, San Lorenzo, 18 November 1797 in DHA, vol. vii, pp. 134–5. Just before Spain's entrance in the war against Great Britain, the Madrid government called upon colonial merchants to send their ships to Spain under the provisions of the 1778 Edict of Free Commerce. Not until 1798 did a master of a small, fast craft feel confident enough to carry specie from the Río de la Plata to Cádiz. ‘El virrey comunica la real orden de 23 de Agosto de 1796…’, Buenos Aires, 28 December 1796 in DHA, vol. VII, pp. 120–1; and Juan Parreda, Buenos Aires, 18 April 1798 in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM).

¹⁴ For Brazilian shipbuilding in this period, see do Amaral Lapa, José Roberto, A Bahia e a Carreira da India (São Paulo, 1968), pp. 61–4Google Scholar; and Morton, F. W. O., ‘The Royal Timber in Late Colonial Bahia’, Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 50 no. 1 (02 1978), pp. 46–7.Google Scholar

¹⁵ Hutchins, John G. B., The American Maritime Industries and Public Policy, 1789–1914. An Economic History (Cambridge, Mass., 1941), pp. 170–7.Google Scholar

¹⁶ ‘Real Orden. permitiendo a D.N Tomás Antonio Romero… ’, Madrid, 30 July 1798, and ‘Real Orden concediendo a D.n Tomás Ant.o Romero permiso para que compre en los puertos …’, 25 December 1798 both in DHA, vol. VII, pp. 151, 156, respectively.

¹⁷ Anselmo Saénz Valiente, Buenos Aires, I August 1800 in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM).

¹⁸ Silva, Hernán Asdrúbal, ‘The United States and the River Plate: Interrelations and Influence Between Two Revolutions’, in Tulchin, Joseph S. (ed.), Hemispheric Perspectives on the United States (Westport, Conn., 1978), pp. 25–28Google Scholar; and ‘Ynstrucciones para alegar las causas justas…’, 1799–1800 (?) in DHA, vol. vii, pp. 174–8.

¹⁹ AGN, (Buenos Aires), 9–49–3–2, 9–49–3–3, and 9–49–3–4 Escribanías de Marina (1796–1806). Expediente on the transfer of the zumaca Melo de Portugal Buenos Aires, 15 October 1796 in AGN 9–24–3–1 Guerra y Marina (1796). Expediente on the Transfer of the Portuguese corbeta Santa Ana y San José, Buenos Aires, 9 October 1798 in AGN 34–1–4 Hacienda (1798). José de Bustamante y Guerra to Viceroy of the Río de la Plata, Buenos Aires, 5 January 1799 in AGN 9–1–2–4 (Marina de Guerra y Mercante 1798–1803). Chandler, Charles Lyon, ‘Documents: The River Plate Voyages’, American Historical Review, vol. 23, no. 4 (07 1918), pp. 816–26Google Scholar. Expediente on the transfer of the Portuguese, zumaca Sán Josef, Buenos Aires, 30 01 1800Google Scholar in AGN 9–24–3–6 Guerra y Marina (1800). Expediente on the Arrival of the North American fragata Oliver Ellsworth, Buenos Aires, 22 04 1802Google Scholar, in AGN 9–24–4–1 Marina, Guerra y (1802). ‘Real orden Aprobando la declaration de haberse hecho nacional a la Fragata Concepción Portuguesa…’, Aranjuez, 16 02 1804 in DHA, vol. vii, pp. 294–5Google Scholar; and ‘Relación de los Buques matriculados en este Puerto…’, Fernando de Souza Santa Cruz, Montevideo, 14 May 1803 in Archivo General de Indias, Audiencia de Buenos Aires, legajo 587 (Expedientes del Consulado).

²⁰ Asdrúbal Silva, op. cit., pp. 25–8.

²¹ Cooney, op. cit., pp. 69–71. It should be noted, however, that often Paraguayan zumacas were employed solely in the river trade and never ventured into the ocean.

²² A good, brief account of this division amongst platine merchants and the debate over trade policy is found in Socolow, Susan Migden, The Merchants of Buenos Aires, 1778–1810: Family and Commerce (Cambridge, 1978), pp. 124–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

²³ Manuel de Sarratea, Buenos Aires, 24 February 1802 in AGN 9–49–3–3(EM); and Asdrúbal Silva, op. cit., p. 28.

²⁴ ‘Del S.or D.n Anto.o Valdés. En resp.ta al oficio…’, Madrid, 24 December 1793 in DHA, vol. vii, p. 43.

²⁵ Juan de Silva Cordeiro, Buenos Aires, 10 April 1804; 12 June 1804; and 24 October 1804 all in AGN 9–49–3–4(EM).

²⁶ Anselmo Sáenz Valiente, Buenos Aires, i August 1800 in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM).

²⁷ After 1797 Mauritius became a favourite destination for ships bound for the ‘coasts of Africa’. That South Indian Ocean French colony functioned as a depot for slaves from Mozambique as well as an international clearing depot for goods. Even during the undeclared naval war between France and the United States in 1798–1800, U.S. ships used its services as did Spanish and Portuguese merchantmen. See Toussaint, Auguste, La Route dts Iles: Contribution a l'Histoire Maritime des Mascareignes (Paris, 1967), pp. 262–9.Google Scholar

²⁸ Tomás Antonio Romero, Buenos Aires, 17 May 1801 in AGN 9–49–3–3(EM); and Romero to Council of the Indies, Buenos Aires, 20 March 1802 in Archivo General de Indias, Audiencia de Buenos Aires, legajo 20 (Remisiones).

²⁹ Urquijo, José M. Mariluz, El Virreinato del Río de la Plata en la época del Marqués de Aviles (1799–1801) (Buenos Aires, 1964), pp. 130–1, 138–139Google Scholar; and ‘Prorrogando por 2 años el permiso condedido p.a introducir Negros…’, Aranjuez, 12 April 1798 in DHA, vol. vii, pp. 145–6. The enforcement of this prohibition was rather lax and slaves of Brazilian origin continued to arrive in Buenos Aires. There the importers usually just paid customs on them and they were landed with no difficulty. José de María, Buenos Aires, 24 December 1800 in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM).

³⁰ Pedro Duval, Buenos Aires, 9 April 1800, and Felipe Vidal, Buenos Aires, 6 May 1800, both in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM).

³¹ Tomás de Balaústegui, Buenos Aires, 10 May, 1799 in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM).

³² Francisco de Llano, Buenos Aires, 22 June 1799 in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM).

³³ ‘Memoria del Virrey marqués de Aviles’, Buenos Aires, 21 May 1801 in Radaelli, op. cit., pp. 513–15. In some cases the viceroy was substantially correct but a survey of the Escribanías de Marina from 1803 to 1806 reveals that for whatever reason the initial purchase of a craft was made, many did remain in platine commerce. Of course, there were some outright false transfers where the ship either did not change hands, or it was impossible to determine under which national registry it sailed. See, for example, ‘Real Orden. observando una resolutión de virrey…’, San Lorenzo, 30 October 1803 in DHA, vol. vii, pp. 265–6; and Galmarini, , ‘Comercio y burocracia colonial’, vol. 29, p. 398.Google Scholar

³⁴ José Proyet, Administrator of the Aduana of Buenos Aires, to Viceroy Joaquín del Pino, Buenos Aires, 13 August 1803 in Sergio Villalobos, R., ‘Notas históricas y geográficas: Dos informes sobre el comercio en el virreinato de Buenos Aires’, Revista Chilena de Historia y Geografía, no. 130 (1962), pp. 366–70.Google Scholar Even when arriving legally in ballast, that ballast was often salt or iron for which there was a ready market in Buenos Aires.

³⁵ In many cases under the old method, the new owner never even appeared before the escribano. Rather, the entire process was handled by an apoderado. The new method applied to the entire Empire and while certainly not foolproof, it was a vast improvement over the earlier process, as well as supplying much more information to the interested historian.

³⁶ Don Juan Angel de Goycolea (Apoderado of Don Martín de Elordi), Buenos Aires, 23 February 1801 and Don Martín de Elordi, Buenos Aires, 1 March 1804 in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM) and 9–49–3–4(EM) respectively. There were other similar cases.

³⁷ Asdrúbal Silva, op. cit., p. 25; Sierra, op. cit., vol. III, pp. 542–3; Casimiro Francisco de Necochea, Buenos Aires, 18 June 1800 in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM); and Casimiro Francisco de Necochea, Buenos Aires, 5 August 1800, in AGN 9–49–3–2(EM).

³⁸ “Real Orden del 18 de diciembre contra la recomendación de Tomás Antonio Romero…”, Madrid, 18 December 1801 in Tjarks, Germán O. E., El Consulado de Buenos Aires y sus Proyecciones en la historia de Río de la Plata (Buenos Aires, 1962), vol. ii, p. 926.Google Scholar

³⁹ Don Carlos Ylla, Buenos Aires, 10 December 1801 in AGN 49–3–2(EM).

⁴⁰ Ibid., Don Juan Viola, Buenos Aires, 4 October 1802 in AGN 9–49–3–3(EM); and Viceroy Joaquín del Pino to Miguel Cayetano Soler, Ministro de Hacienda, Buenos Aires, 18 August 1804 in Archivo General de Indias, Audiencia de Buenos Aires, legajo 218 (Cartas y Expedientes).

⁴¹ Pedro Duval (Apoderado for Tomás Antonio Romero), Buenos Aires, 5 November 1803 in AGN 9–49–3–3(EM); and Galmarini, , ‘Comercio y burocracia colonial’, vol. 29, pp. 412–16.Google Scholar

⁴² One would imagine that with peace there would be no further demand for foreign vessels. That was not the case any more than the neutral trade with Buenos Aires ceased.

⁴³ Don Francisco Ygnacio de Ugarte, Buenos Aires, 16 March 1804 in AGN 9–49–3–4(EM).

⁴⁴ Romero sent several ships in 1804 directly to London and to North America. Pedro Duval, on the other hand, was interested in the Hamburg trade.

⁴⁵ ‘Real orden declarando en Tp.o en q.e…‘, Aranjuez, 4 March 1804 in DHA, vol. vii, pp. 277–8.

⁴⁶ ‘Real orden. interpretando las Reales ordenes…’, San Lorenzo, 18 December 1805 in DHA, vol. vii, pp. 315–16.

⁴⁷ Wedovy, Enrique, La evolutión económica rioplatense a fines del siglo XVIII y principios del siglo XIX a la luz de la historia del seguro (Buenos Aires, 1967), pp. 209–28.Google Scholar

⁴⁸ Tjarks, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 827–37; and Moreno, Nicolás Besio, Las fundaciones matemáticas de Belgrano (Buenos Aires, 1920)Google Scholar, passim.

⁴⁹ Gonzales, Julio César, ‘La ‘portuguización’ de los navíos en el Río de la Plata (1805–1806)’, Revista Histórica (Montevideo), vol. 77 no. 51 (1952)Google Scholar, passim. Many of these ‘false-flag’ ships can be identified as having passed to platine hands by purchase prior to 1805.

⁵⁰ Donghi, Tulio Halperín, Politics, Economics and Society in Argentina in the Revolutionary Period (Cambridge, 1975), p. 94.Google Scholar

⁵¹ Even so, as late as 1809 Spain was still encouraging the purchase of foreign ships for the African Trade. ‘Real orden. concediendo por cuatro años más…’, Sevilla, 28 November 1809 in DHA, vol. vii, p. 389.

⁵² Brown, Jonathan C., A Socio-economic History of Argentina, 1776–1860 (Cambridge, 1979), p. 118.Google Scholar