The first part of the conference will take place at the campus of William & Mary (USA) on April 11-13, and the second part will be held at UNAM (Mexico) from April 15th-17th. Participants may choose the attendance location or participate in both places. This Conference is part of the project HIRECOM (Historia social de las Regulaciones Comerciales - Social History of Trade Regulations).
HIRECOM is a collective project that examines the importance of institutions and the role of coordination mechanisms in trade practices from the perspective of the social history of trade regulation (see: https://www.casadevelazquez.org/recherche-scientifique/programmes-scientifiques-de-lehehi/axe-ii-circulations-echanges-reseaux/hirecom/presentation-generale/).
HIRECOM contributes to the social history of trade regulations by analyzing the social, moral, cultural, and legal determinants that motivated merchants to fulfill their commitments and obligations. It also involves studying the role of market actors, legal and judicial professionals, and sovereign political authorities in producing these social and legal norms. In particular, the HIRECOM program focuses on institutional change derived from the liberalizing processes of the second half of the 18th Century. It aims at discussing the novelty of these transformations in the normative framework of mercantile action, examining them in relation to previous forms of regulation from a long-term comparative perspective. Therefore, the project adopts a chronological framework that recognizes trade regulation forms' non-linear and varied evolution.
"Powers, Polycentrism, and Trade Regulations: Monopolies, Privileges, and Commercial Exclusivity in the Iberian World" is the first of two conferences planned by HIRECOM and will focus on how the practices of different economic and political actors contributed to the construction of various forms of economic monopolies, privileges, and exclusivities. To achieve this goal, we invite contributions examining the following aspects of commercial regulations:
- Monopolistic practices that governed trade in the Iberian World;
- The forms of privileges and commercial exclusivities negotiated by actors, corporations, and companies to organize the production and exploitation of certain economic sectors or trade routes (coinage, mercury trade, tobacco trade, letters of credit, Manila Galleon, maritime and land-based transportation of metals, etc.);
- Forms of regulation, privileges, and commercial exclusivities negotiated by actors, corporations, and companies regarding the slave trade;
- Transgressions of these privileges and exclusivities, as well as the processes that led to their dismantling and forms of trade liberalization;
- The resistance of beneficiaries of these privileges and commercial exclusivities faced within the framework of the Iberian Monarchies and post-colonial Iberian societies;
Other contributions examining the social construction of monopolies, privileges, and corporate rights in the Iberian World. Contributions exploring other spaces are accepted as long as they articulate with the Iberian World.
Spanish and English are the working languages of the Conference.
Submissions should consist of:
- a 350-word abstract
- five keywords
- a two-page CV
- the intended mode of participation (at William & Mary, at UNAM, at both locations, or either at William & Mary or at UNAM).
Contributors should send materials to coord.hirecom@gmail.com by September 30th, 2023.
William & Mary and UNAM will provide accommodations and meals. Papers may be selectedto be published in an edited volume and/or journal dossier.
Organizers: Arnaud Bartolomei (Université Côte d'Azur, CMMC), Gibrán Bautista y Lugo (Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, UNAM), Laurine Manac'h (Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne, Mondes Américains), Zacarías Moutoukias (Université Paris Cité, LIED), Fabrício Prado (William & Mary), Martín L. E. Wasserman (CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto Ravignani)
HIRECOM is a three-year project (2023-2025), part of the scientific program of the EHEHI - Casa de Velázquez, which brings together a scientific consortium including UNAM, William & Mary, four other research laboratories from both sides of the Atlantic, and a scientific team consisting of 18 members who specialize in trade relations in the Iberian world.