Ana Maria Crespo : Diasporas and the integration of the “Merchant Nations”: Flemish and Dutch Networks in the Early Modern Spain
Ana Maria Crespo, Institute of History, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
The study of the migration and settlement of non-native groups in various European port cities has been approached from different angles and perspectives. These approaches have been explored within the framework of historiography that emphasises the social and institutional consequences of waves of migration on the structure of modern Western civilisation. Research in this area has taken on a more global focus in what has come to be known as Atlantic History. In a recent essay, John Elliot underlined the need for an analysis of Atlantic history that would include linking elements such as local communities, systems of migration and settlement, family structures, demographic characteristics, and social and religious conduct. This document analyses the main aspects of one of the most representative communities in the process of migration and merchant colony formation under the Hispanic monarchy between the 16th and 18th centuries: Flemish and Dutch colonies in Spanish Atlantic ports. This is a case study of the characteristics of these communities within the local context, as well as the overall socio-historical framework. The study makes it possible to evaluate a specific model, which can then perhaps be extrapolated to all foreign merchant settlements in Atlantic port cities.
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