Question

Juan Pablo Viscardo, An Open Letter to America, written in 1791 and published in Latin America in 1801.

Note: Juan Pablo Viscardo was a Creole born in Peru. He wrote this letter in Europe but it was later distributed in the Americas. Americanos was a term he used to refer to Creoles. Viscardo was a firm supporter of independence.

The commercial monopoly imposed by Spain meant that the colonists could only buy imported goods from and sell exported goods to Spanish merchants. This restriction allowed the Spanish rulers to set prices for all goods coming in and out of its colonies.

Spanish restrictions on travel and commerce sealed America off from the rest of the world [limiting] our basic personal and property rights…. We in America are perhaps the first to be forced by our own government to sell our products at artificially low prices and buy what we need at artificially high prices. This is the result of the Spanish commercial monopoly system, combined with taxes and official fees. And because the official monopoly on transatlantic trade would naturally lead us to produce more in America, the government has been careful to place limitations on what we can legally produce. Europeans unfamiliar with this situation can scarcely believe that an amount of iron costing five or six dollars in Europe costs one hundred dollars in America....

… Spain could have left us the administration of our own affairs, one would think. Americanos, being those most concerned by affairs of America, logically ought to fill the public offices of their own country for the benefit of all concerned. But that has been far from the case.

Document Analysis
How does Spain’s commercial monopoly affect the price of goods being imported into and exported out of the colonies?
We in America are perhaps the first to be forced by our own government to sell our products at artificially low prices and buy what we need at artificially high prices.
Identify two economic policies that are making Creoles like Juan Pablo Viscardo angry.
Enter your response here
What example does Viscardo use to show how Americans are being hurt by Spanish price-fixing?
Enter your response here
Who does Viscardo think should be in charge of the American economy?
Enter your response here
How could you use this document to respond to the question, why did the Creoles take the lead in the fight for independence?
Enter your response here

Answer 1

How does Spain’s commercial monopoly affect the price of goods being imported into and exported out of the colonies?
- It forces colonists to sell their products at artificially low prices and buy imports at artificially high prices, because all trade goes through Spanish merchants who set the prices.

Identify two economic policies that are making Creoles like Juan Pablo Viscardo angry.
- The Spanish commercial monopoly (only trading with Spanish merchants, with prices set by Spain).
- Restrictions on production and trade in the colonies (limits on what can be produced locally), together with heavy taxes and official fees.

What example does Viscardo use to show how Americans are being hurt by Spanish price-fixing?
- He points out that iron costing $5–6 in Europe costs $100 in America.

Who does Viscardo think should be in charge of the American economy?
- Americanos (the Creoles/local inhabitants) should administer their own affairs and hold public office.

How could you use this document to respond to the question, why did the Creoles take the lead in the fight for independence?
- Use the letter as direct evidence that Creoles were motivated by economic grievances and political exclusion: Spain’s monopoly and production limits robbed them of profits and economic development, high taxes and fees increased burdens, and they were denied public office and self-government. Those combined economic and political injustices explain why Creoles—having the most to lose and the most organizational capacity—led the independence movement.