Crisis bancarias en la historia de España. Del Antiguo Régimen a los orígenes del capitalismo moderno

In the last eight centuries there have been hundreds of banking crises throughout the entire planet. Spain has not been an exception and our history is plagued with numerous financial disasters in which the collapse of one institution has jeopardized the stability of the whole financial structure. This paper examines two of the most severe banking crises of Spain´s history. The failures of the so-called public banks in the commercial city of Seville at the end of the XVI century and theirs effects over the stability of the payment system. The Andalusian deposit banks played an essential role in the Atlantic trade and their debacle affected the entire economic and financial fabric of the region, and it had long lasting consequences. The 1866 crisis, one of the most severe of contemporary Spain, wiped out half of the banks and credit companies. The bankruptcies weakened the nascent financial system and its consequences were felt until the end of the century.