the Economy of Spain under Isabella and Ferdinand

Question 1

how much of the population were peasants?

Answer 1

80%

Question 2

how was the land distributed?

Answer 2

2% of the population owned 97% of the land

Question 3

what was the role and place of sheep farming and the Mesta?

Answer 3

the meta controlled millions of migratory sheep - the crowns major concern was how to control them
wool was a primary source of Castilian trade and taxation on them was a major source of government income.

there was however an over reliance on sheep farming. it meant that not enough time/money wad spent on other things such as textiles.

Question 4

what was internal trade like in spain?

Answer 4

trade and commerce dominated local economics - central and Northern Castile were areas of considerable activity

there were problems however. the presence of tolls and poor inland transport. the tolls were raised to maintain the roads, rivers and bridges and the merchants also had to pay tolls when they entered each kingdom.

Question 5

what was external Trade like in Spain?

Answer 5

pats such as the port of Seville greatly benefited from external trade, Seville had the highest volume of customs duties, the total number of ships sailing form Seville to America rose from 300 in 1504 to more than 5,000 in 1516.

Question 6

what was the impact of the discovery of America by 1516?

Answer 6

in october 1492 Christopher columbus made landfall in the Bahamas - The Catholic Kings lodged their claim to the land with the pope
from 1509 small settlements were set up at Cartagena, Sant Marta and other sights
by 1520 spain was on the threshold of a world empire

big impact on Seville - 300 tons passing through in 1504 - 3000 tonnes passing through in 1516 - the population increased from 60,000 in 1500 to 100,000 in 1556.

Question 7

how far was the economy of Spain unified?

Answer 7

improvements of posts and routes did something to bring closers the regions however on the while the Catholic Kings did very little to break down he economic barrier between the kingdoms - the two different economic kingdoms continued to exist side by side (the Atlantic system of Castile and the Mediterranean system of Aragon) - the exploration of the New World and the increase in the wool trade meant that the Atlantic system was flourishing - seen in the boom of Seville whilst the collapse of Catalonia caused the med system to suffer (although Valencia was growing)

the two kingdoms remained both politically and economically separate - even their coinage was different- this obstacle was overcome in 1497 when the

Question 8

what were four mistakes that the crown made regarding the economy?

Answer 8

the failed to promote native industries

isabella always put religious consideration ahead of economic

the decision to grant total control of American Trade and Commerce to the Casa del Contratacion in seville

encouraging foreign merchants to finance and supervise vital aspects of transatlantic trade - failed To support native and local industries.