BANCO NACIONAL DE SAN CARLOS & BANK OF SPAIN

A major part of the Hamilton collection consists of source materials for his history of the Bank of Spain. These comprise some 5000 photostats of documents in various Spanish archives, most notably the Archivo del Banco de España and the Archivo Histórico Nacional. Although Hamilton published several lengthy articles about the bank, his assembled source material is much greater than what was cited in print. An outline of chapters and chapter numbers appended to the photostats suggest he intended to write a book. The best synopsis of his research are his articles "The Foundation of the Bank of Spain" (1945) and "The First Twenty Years of the Bank of Spain" (1946) published in the Journal of Political Economy. A reprint of both articles is included among his personal papers.

The photostats in Hamilton's collection include the reports of the Junta General in charge of the bank, descriptions of various bank projects, and other material on the bank's accounts, loans, contracts, and stockholders' meetings. One original document, the prospectus for establishing the bank, drawn up by Don Francisco Cabarrús in 1781, is also part of the collection and bears annotatations made by Hamilton. View larger version of image at right

Other documents pertain to the career of Cabarrús, who became the bank's first director. He remained in that position until 1787, when scandals over losses and discrepancies in the accounts forced his resignation. Among the photostats in the Hamilton collection is a lengthy declaration made by Cabarrús during an inquiry into bank affairs in the 1790s. The Conde de Cabarrús

NOTE: This collection contains photostats of materials which belong to other archives. Please consult collections staff for regulations on making photocopies.

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compiled by James Gregory Cusick
Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow
IAS, Perkins Library
Duke University
last updated August 16, 1996