ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the reception and dissemination of David Ricardo's economic ideas in Spain has not had the benefit of an entire monographic article. It examines the variety of ways in which Ricardo was received in Spanish, partly in chronological order. Spain's preference for French as the leading foreign language for the learned community had consolidated since the middle of the eighteenth century, although universities almost exclusively used textbooks in Spanish. According to Florez, the extensive critical notes made by Seoane reveal that the latter had not understood Ricardo's ideas on value and distribution and his ignorance of political economy was an indication of the economic and cultural backwardness of Spain. The reception of Ricardo's economic thought in Spain was influenced by factors 'external' to economic analysis, such as the persecution of liberals, the restrictions on publishing rights up to 1834 and the predominance of the French language and French publications among the learned public.
