Donativos, préstamos y privilegios: Los mercaderes y mineros de la Ciudad de México durante la guerra anglo-española de 1779–1783

This is a deeply researched study that should lead to fundamental reconsiderations of the role of New Spain in the Americas during the era of wars and revolutions that broke empires, forged nations, and transformed global capitalism, from the 1750s to the 1820s. Guillermina del Valle Pavón focuses on the roles of Mexico City merchant financiers and mining entrepreneurs in funding Spain's participation in the war against England that encased North American colonials' fight for independence. She documents how the powerful in New Spain used their unique ability to deliver funds in time of war to limit Spanish Bourbon reform policies and to favor their silver economy and the trade that it fueled. She also shows how Mexico City merchants claimed new participations in Pacific trades linking Asia to the Americas, energizing commerce with Lima and Guayaquil just as the mass risings...