The Politics of Giving in the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata: Donors, Lenders, Subjects, and Citizens

4: Givers and Takers in the Politics of Giving: The 1793–1795 Redistribution Patterns

82 chapter 4 givers and takers in the politics of giving The 1793–1795 Redistribution Patterns In addition to the merchant-bankers who collected and transferred donativos across the treasuries (discussed in chapter 3), other powerful individuals and groups found in them opportunities for obtaining political and financial rewards. Despite their contributions , however, donors of lesser means were only rarely compensated. In this chapter, I analyze donativos provided by different individuals and social and corporate groups and discuss the justifications for an unequal distribution of rewards. the merchants of buenos aires: donativos as a lending operation secured by corporate delegation During the War against the French Convention, the merchants of Buenos Aires contributed a one-time 100,000-peso donativo. This donativo stands out because it represented almost one-half of the 1793–1795 one-time donativo total yield, 90 percent of the Buenos Aires treasury’s donativo total, and 40 percent of the grand total collected in donativos in the entire viceroyalty during this war (table 3.7). The merchants of Buenos Aires were the main beneficiaries of the policy of free trade as their fortunes had grown exponentially since its implementation in 1778. But because their businesses were hurt by warfare they advocated for a rapid end to hostilities .1 Additionally, from 1778 onward, the porteño merchants, in particular wholesalers, grew stronger not only individually but also as a group. The creation of a consulado, a commercial guild and court, had been part of their political agenda since 1782; however, years of negotiations were required before it could be established in February 1794. The correspondence givers and takers in the politics of giving 83 exchanged between the porteño merchants and their deputy at court demonstrates that their promise to collect a substantial donativo was what finally turned the tide in their favor. Their original offer was set at 25,000 pesos, but through the negotiations that figure quadrupled.2 Similar to the case of the situadistas discussed in chapter 3, these negotiations show that while the king was willing to extend the merchants of Buenos Aires a coveted grant he did not lose political initiative at a time of war. On the contrary, the price of his favor was increased through bargaining. Once established, the consulado of Buenos Aires soon collected the 100,000-peso donativo. These funds were raised by means of a complex lending operation in which the merchant guild functioned as the financial and fiscal broker for the crown. As mentioned in the previous chapters, donativos frequently were related to profitable lending operations, and the agreement between the merchants of Buenos Aires and the crown serves as an example of such. It established that the consulado would raise loans from individuals and local corporations and simultaneously collect taxes earmarked to pay the interest and principal back to lenders. The interest rate was set at 6 percent annually. The duties established for that purpose included 0.5 percent on the gold and silver exported from Buenos Aires and Montevideo (derecho de avería) and another 0.5 percent to be charged on the import and export of goods traded through those seaports.3 Other consulados in the Americas frequently engineered similar operations when the crown needed to collect considerable sums quickly to finance international warfare. Consulados had been successful fund-raisers because they enjoyed good credit ratings due to the royal grants that allowed them to collect certain taxes on behalf of the crown. In sum, this credit operation was characteristic of the old regime as, in the absence of a bank, the crown used the local merchant elite and their corporation to attract capital and raise revenue. In return for such services , consulado merchants were not only able to advocate strongly for their political interests but also found a profitable investment for their own capital, which was temporarily idle due to warfare.4 Finally, through this donativo the consulado channeled tax money into the merchants’ pockets. The mechanism was simple. Since the consulado collected these taxes, its treasurers managed the yields. The junta de comercio, which governed the consulado, periodically authorized the treasurers to pay the accrued interest to lenders utilizing tax funds. The receipts detailing these payments survive, and they demonstrate that every year the consulado punctually paid interest to these investors.5 chapter 4 84 The minutes of the Consulado of Buenos Aires recorded the transactions concerning the funds...