ABSTRACT
Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations (WN) was widely spread in Spain during the last two decades of the eighteenth century, during which the work knew several translations and versions and played a significant role in the debates on political economy of the late Spanish Enlightenment. This contribution analyses the presence of the WN’s ideas in the parliamentary debates of the first Spanish Liberal Parliament held in Cádiz between 1810 and 1813, which resulted in the enactment in 1812 of the first Spanish constitution. Liberals belonging to different ideological groups used the WN to support their view on many issues. The chapter pays particular attention to the debates on public finance, commerce and economic development, as well as the loose footprint of Smith’s work in the first Spanish constitution in 1812.
