This book contains a systematic study of economic institutions during the Spanish Enlightenment in the areas of print culture (the press, merchants’ handbooks, teaching materials), education (university chairs in political economy and commerce) and the organisation of financial matters at state level (economic societies, trade consulates and the official statistics agency). A Unifying Enlightenment is a fresh interpretation of political economy’s contribution to the development of the European Enlightenment. Jesús Astigarraga shows that, far from being a straightforward intellectual phenomenon, this new science played a crucial role in both the circulating and institutionalisation of Enlightenment culture and the process of political unification and articulation undergone by the Spanish monarchy, which culminated in a constitutional culture.

Table of Contents:
Preliminary Note Introduction 1 Merchants’ Handbooks (1699–1759): Educate, Inform, Reform  1 Introduction  2 From Pérez de Moya to Corachán  3 From Corachán to Bordázar  4 The Financiers’ Revolt  5 Other Channels of Mercantile Information  6 Final Remarks 2 Graef’s Discursos Mercuriales (1752–1756) and the Origins of the Economics Press in Spain  1 Introduction: Graef and the Discursos Mercuriales  2 The 1755 Discurso Preliminar  3 The Chief Source of the Discursos: The Journal Oeconomique  4 Oikonomia in the Discursos Mercuriales  5 From Oikonomia to the “Science of Commerce:” The Discourse on Commerce in General (1755–1756)  6 Final Remarks 3 Political Economy in the Spectators Era of the Spanish Press (1758–1771)  1 Introduction  2 Nifo and the Estafeta de Londres (1762)  3 Nifo and the Correo General de Europa (1763)  4 The Miscelánea Política (1763) by Barberi  5 The Saura´s Semanario Económico (1765–1767)  6 Final Remarks 4 Decentralising the Ilustración, Disseminating the Political Economy  1 Introduction  2 The Trade Consulates and Economic Societies  3 The Memorias of the Economic Societies  4 Going beyond the Memorias of the Economic Societies  5 Economic Societies and the Promotion of the Economic Press  6 Final Remarks 5 Commerce and Political Economy Dictionaries  1 Introduction  2 Oikonomia and Commerce in the Encyclopaedic Literature of Eighteenth Century Europe  3 A Commerce Dictionary in Spain: The Project Phase  4 A Commerce Dictionary in Spain: The Creation Phase  5 Encyclopaedic Literature: The Encyclopédies Compiled by Diderot and D’Alembert and Panckoucke  6 Final Remarks 6 In Support of the Enligthened Reforms: The Memorial Literario (1784–1808)  1 Introduction: The Press in the “Golden Age”  2 Political Economy in the Press: Diverse Channels  3 The Memorial Literario  3.1 The Memorial Literario in Spain’s Territorial Pluralism  3.2 The Journalism Power of Controversies  3.3 Agriculture, Industry and Trade 4 Final Remarks 7 The Critical Press and Public Opinion: El Correo de Madrid (1786–1791) and the Espíritu de Los Mejores Diarios (1787–1791)  1 Introduction  2 El Correo de Madrid o de los ciegos (1786–1791)  3 The Espíritu de los Mejores Diarios (1787–1791)  4 Final Remarks 8 Training the New Bureaucrats: The Political Economy Chairs (1784–1808)  1 Introduction  2 Maturing the Projects, Shaping “Opinion”  3 The Saragossa Chair: An Official and Experimental Experience  4 The Forgotten Natural Law and Moral Philosophy Chairs  5 Beyond Saragossa: Madrid, Majorca and Salamanca  6 The Counter-Enlightenment Reaction  7 Final Remarks 9 Merchants’ Handbooks (1760–1808): From Office Desks to Chairs of Commerce  1 Introduction: An Overview (1699–1808)  2 The Strengthening of Local Genealogies (1760–1790)  3 Bails and Enlightened Reformism Handbooks  4 The Correo Mercantil and the Modernisation of Trading Culture  5 The Purpose of Drafting a Code of Commerce  6 The Chairs of Commerce and Their Handbooks 7 Final Remarks 10 The Specialised Economics Press: The Correo Mercantil (1792–1808) and the Semanario de Agricultura (1797–1808)  1 Introduction: Board of Trade and the Official Statistics Agency  2 The Correo Mercantil de España y sus Indias (1792–1808)  3 The Semanario de Agricultura y Artes dirigido a los párrocos (1797–1808)  4 Final Remarks Epilogue Appendix Bibliography, Sources and Abbreviations Index