Portuguese Credit in Philip IV’s Spanish Monarchy: the Asientos of the Núñez-Mercado Family (1640-1652)

Abstract

This study reconstructs the financial career of the Núñez-Mercado family of Portuguese New Christian businessmen during the reign of Philip IV. It sheds light on the influence it achieved thanks to the close relationship between one of the family’s heads, Henrique Núñez, and a royal minister, the Count of Peñaranda de Bracamonte, which opened the way to its participation in the finances of the Spanish Monarchy. After examining different contracts for the provision of the Army of Extremadura and the mechanisms by which the Núñez-Mercado financed their asiento contracts, it assesses the new contractual relationship developed between the Spanish Crown and this Portuguese banking house following the royal bankruptcy of 1647, which led to its linking new asientos with tax-farming contracts. It concludes with a brief description of the extinction of the family firm following the arrest and prosecution of Manuel Núñez Mercado by the Inquisition in 1652.