In the mid-16th century, the bankers of Seville were facing a difficult situation, aggravated by the introduction of a “pragmática” that limited monetary circulation in Castile. At that time, Seville's bankers operated, in a kind of oligopoly, managing the enormous treasures—public and private—received, under the mediation of the Casa de la Contratación, for the minting of gold and silver coins. The concentration of this wealth significantly increased business and the risk of insolvency of the bankers. This article analyzes the crisis of the banker Domingo de Lizarraras, who was declared bankrupt by the city authorities on March 11, 1553. Through the study of judicial and notarial sources, numerous aspects previously unknown to historiography regarding the origins of this major banking crisis are revealed, distinguishing between endogenous and exogenous causes.
Charles III University of Madrid, Spain - ORCID: 0000-0002-0175-597X
University of Naples Federico II, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-4985-5686
Chapter Title
La crisis de la banca pública sevillana a mediados del siglo XVI. La quiebra de Domingo de Lizarraras en 1553
Authors
Carlos Álvarez Nogal, Sergio Sardone
Language
Spanish
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0963-2.21
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Gestione del rischio, insolvenza e bancarotta nel mondo premoderno (secc. XIII-XVIII) / Risk management, insolvency, and bankruptcy in the pre-modern world (13th-18th centuries)
Editors
Angela Orlandi
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
568
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0963-2
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0962-5
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0963-2
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0964-9
Series Title
Datini Studies in Economic History
Series ISSN
2975-1241
Series E-ISSN
2975-1195