Implementing the Asiento and Smuggling

García-Montón's study reveals how the Genoese entrepreneur Domenico Grillo’s factors exploited unprecedented privileges to expand the Spanish American asiento trade, challenging established Sevillian and Lima consulados while engaging in smuggling activities beyond the charter's limits. The research demonstrates that this expansion required collaboration with local merchants, middlemen, and political authorities, who quickly benefited from the trade. This dynamic of competition and cooperation set the stage for future trading relationships within the Spanish Indies and broader global trade circuits. By focusing on the Isthmus of Panama and Pacific South America, the study provides a detailed, intra-imperial perspective on the complexities of monopolistic trade during the 17th century.

García-Montón, A. (2021). Implementing the Asiento and Smuggling. Genoese Entrepreneurship and the Asiento Slave Trade, 1650–1700, 204–237. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003242215-7