ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to trace the course of the free trade controversy, which was at the center of Spain's American policy for much of the decade between 1810 and 1820 and which affords considerable insight into the vested interest groups and motives of those who influenced Spain's response to the independence movements. The free trade controversy evolved through several stages after 1810, starting as one of a series of proposals that American deputies at Cadiz had promoted for the benefit of their continent and that they had alleged was a major economic reform essential for the restoration of peace. Considerable political and intellectual support for this assessment of the potential impact in America was achieved, but the Spanish governments at Cadiz and those of later years had chosen for the most part to view the proposal mainly as a bargaining counter to be used in obtaining British or international cooperation in ending the insurrections.
