16 th C. European naval ships, by Rafael Monleón y Torres (1847-1900) Watercolor (48 x 67 cm). Museo Naval, Madrid

Research on 16th & 17th C. Irish merchant web in the Iberian Peninsula is dramatically absent –and this is particularly evident in the case of Continental Portugal, Madeira and the Azores. Various reasons can explain this imbalance. First of all, Irish commerce with Iberia during the Habsburg period seems to be much more ‘irregular' than in the 18 th C. Possible causes: The Spanish (regular) confiscation of Irish goods and ships seized in periods of war with Britain provoked a continuous interruption of commerce. Tradesmen had to face the costs caused by trails, lawyers and officials taxes. 17 th C. Irish political and economic instability . The Spanish authorities had a great confusion to distinguish between English and Irish, as the English captains passed themselves off as Irish or tried to sell their products in Spain using Irish traders as intermediaries. The Irish divided themselves depending of the origin, language and loyalty to the English Crown. The tradesmen began to be identified with the southern and western coast cities of Ireland, traditionally of Anglo-Irish ancestry and, consequently, Catholic but loyal to the English Crown. These families also spoke English and they felt connected to England culturally. General instability provoked by European major conflicts .

Southern Irish families had strong links with Spain in the 16th & 17th C., but they are not firmly established yet. They begun a political strategy in order to reinforce their position. This way, Spanish need of Atlantic news –and specially from the British Archipelago- was used by the Irish to get the information control in the Iberian ports . Owing to language and closeness to other Irish traders, the Spanish tried to make regular the flow of information from Ireland through a number of fixed Irish informers, settled in different ports, in charge of gathering information and then transmitting it to the Court. This way, from the beginning of the 17 th C. Irish started considering the idea of achieving the appointment as consuls of their ‘nation' in Spanish ports. Success in Andalusia : during the first half of the 17 th C. the Irish went on controlling the posts of consuls in the coasts of Andalusia. The differentiated role of Ireland compared to the rest of nations of the British Archipelago was reinforced and so the basis for the future 18th C. Irish merchant network in Atlantic Spain.

Atlas of the Mediterranean. Atributed to the Portuguese Diego Homen (c. 1561) Museo Naval, Madrid

Main problem : Extremely diversification for the primary sources due to the Spanish bureaucracy complexity . Particular interrelationship and balance between the different Councils or Consejos in the government of the Spanish Monarchy is in the base of this complexity. It is usual to find material on mercantile networks in the Estado (Concil of State) section, in Juntas de Hacienda (the Treasury) but also in the Guerra Antigua (Council of War) section. This material may be found in the major Spanish Habsburg archive, Simancas and for the Americas in the Archivo de Indias, Seville. In Valladolid it is also very important primary sources from section Chancillería . However, lack of precise descriptors (sometimes just the lack of descriptors) made extraordinary difficult to get information. The problem in Chancillería is very similar to that of the massive body of documentation depositated on the notarial archives of Galicia, Basque Country, Madrid and the Andalusian ports. Research difficulties caused a huge gap with 18th C. studies. We do not know exactly the position of Irish merchants in 17th C. Spain; and this position is of crucial importance to understand the 18 th. C. Irish commerce in primary ports of the Atlantic world such as the Canaires, Cadiz, Lisbon and Galicia. The short list I give you on the secondary works for the 16th and 17th C. can give us an idea about this:

Barkhan , M. M., ‘The Spanish Basque Irish Fishery & Trade in Sixteenth-Century', History Ireland , 9 (2001), pp. 12-15.

Kearney , H. F., ‘Mercantilism and Ireland 1620-40', in T. D. Williams, (ed.), Historical Studies. Londres: Bowes & Bowes, 1958, pp. 59-68.

O'Sullivan , M. D., Old Galway. The History of a Norman Colony in Ireland . Cambridge: W. Heffer and Sons, 1912.

Recio Morales, Óscar, ‘ Irish nation and 17 th C. Iberian trade: multiple identities and confused identities', in Irish and Scottish mercantile networks in Europe and overseas, c. 1550-c. 1820 (Communication) . Trinity College, October 2003.

Sánchez de Sopranis , H., ‘Las naciones extranjeras en Cádiz durante el siglo XVII', Estudios de Historia Social de España , 4, 2 (1960), pp. 639-877.

Taylor , Harland, ‘Trade, Neutrality and the «English Road», 1630-1648', Econ. Hist. Rev. , 2ª serie, Vol. XXV (1972), pp. 236-60.

Woodward , D., ‘The Anglo-Irish Livestock Trade in the Seventeenth Century', Irish Historical Studies , Vol. XVIII, n°. 72 (1973), pp. 489-523.

----, ‘Irish Sea Trade and Shipping from the Latter Middle Ages to c . 1660', en M. McCaughan y J. Appleby (eds.), The Irish Sea: Aspects of Maritime History . Belfast: 1989, pp. 35-44.

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