The Port Infrastructures of the Bay of Cadiz before the Challenge of the American Monopoly

Abstract

The transfer of the Casa de la Contratación from Seville to Cadiz in 1717 was justified by the navigability problems of the Guadalquivir river, which hindered the continuity of the Sevillian monopoly. Faced with this, the Bay of Cadiz seemed to be much better suited to the demands of the Carrera de Indias, by offering a more suitable and functional port for the fleets. In fact, the head of American colonial traffic had already been officially transferred to Cadiz in 1680. The transfer of the governing institutions of the Carrera –the Casa de la Contratación and the Consulado de Cargadores– appeared as the logical consequence in this process of tilting of the capital of the American monopoly. The question that addresses this paper is what were the real conditions of navigability that presented the Bay of Cadiz in those moments and how they were modified by the new role that had to assume to him. At the same time, this paper examines how the Cadiz port system evolved face of the new Atlantic situation, bearing in mind that the Bay of Cadiz not only assumed the capital of the American monopoly, but was also designated as one of the three maritime departments that resulted from the Bourbon reorganization of the Navy. The resulting intense naval traffic, both merchant ships and war ships, introduced changes and raised logistical needs that demanded effective responses. The purpose of this paper is to explore these interesting issues, especially in regard to the running of the Carrera de Indias.

Keywords

• bahía de cádiz
• carrera de indias
• navegación
• infraestructuras portuarias
• siglo xviii