Theology and Commerce, or Spirit and Matter: The Case of the Manila Galleon Trade
摘要
The consultas of the work of the Juan de Paz constitute very instructive texts on moral theology, applied to a field that is theoretically distant from it: trade and economic transactions of the Manila Galleon trade. It is about building a series of moral behaviors, guided by religious teaching in relation to the very specific world of merchandise, which has its own procedures, its rules, both legal and economic. Particular cases are discussed in the texts, for example, the legality of the entrustment of merchandise by inhabitants of Manila in favor of merchants from Mexico. Juan de Paz’s sources of consultation are essentially moral theology, in that he goes back to the Confessions of Saint Augustine. Paz also refers to legal texts, such as the Recopilación de Leyes de Indias. This chapter is divided into three parts: in the first we analyze some characteristics of the Manila Galleon trade. In the second, we address the general issues that are dealt with in the transcription of the manuscript, corresponding to consulta 3 of Libro 23. Finally, we discuss the role of foreigners in trans-Pacific trade, that we found in consulta LVII of his book published in 1687.