Sources of Power of Mexico City Silver Merchants: Kinship Networks
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Sources of Power of Mexico City Silver Merchants: Kinship Networks, Merchant Guild and Mint Control in the Late 17th Century Guillermina del Valle Pavón Instituto de Investigaciones Dr. José María Luis Mora The paper analyzes the sources of political and economic power of Mexico City silver merchants in the last decades of the 17th century. These merchants performed a central role in the economy of New Spain, since they financed silver production as well as internal and external trade. The paper shows how silver intermediaries promoted their interests through kinship, fellow countrymen and clientele networks, given the fact that viceroyal society was both hierarchical and corporative. These networks allowed them to penetrate the royal administration. Networks allowed silver merchants to gain control of the mint and merchant guild of Mexico City.
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