Globalisation, market formation and commoditisation in the Spanish empire. Consumer demand for Asian goods in Mexico City and Seville, C. 1571-1630

Abstract

This article aims to shed light on the process and mechanisms through which Asian manufactured goods (Chinese silk and porcelain, among others) were commoditised and how markets for such goods were formed in the Spanish Empire. After the opening of the Manila Galleon route in 1571 supply of and demand for Asian goods grew in the Spanish Empire, but retail means of supply of such goods were scantly developed. The article offers an econometric model which, when applied to data on a sample of probate inventories of elites of Mexico City and Seville, determines the influence of belonging to private, familial global networks in consumer demand expansion for Asian manufactures throughout the Spanish Empire.