During the time of Spanish splendor, at the peak of the Spanish Indies trade,the position of the rich merchants in Seville was remarkably strong. ?ey resid-ed at the hub between the European and the American economy and the com-mercial opportunities seemed endless. Based on recent literature and abundantsource material, this chapter gives a survey of the economic and social struc-ture of the ci…
But what many people are no longer aware of today is that predicting this devel-opment 70 years ago would have been a risky bet. To understand this better, let ustake a moment to look back at the country’s situation in 1949. After 12 years(1933–1945) of the totalitarian, criminal and aggressive Nazi dictatorship, Germanywas literally in ruins at the end of the Second World War. Not only had…