Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations in Spain

Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was the product of the rich tradition of the Scottish Enlightenment but the book's fame immediately spread across the whole of Europe. This book looks at the long journey of Smith's ideas from Scotland to peninsular Spain, reconstructing in detail the reception, adaptation, interpretation, and application of Smith's central concepts from 1777 up to 1840. In light of methodological advances during the last two decades in the history of economic thought and the studies on the late Spanish Enlightenment and early Liberalism, the book tackles a series of significant issues and gaps in the historiography. In particular: this book sheds new light on the role of France as an intermediate step as the ideas spread from Britain southwards; the analysis draws not just on translations but also handwritten materials, book reviews, syntheses, summaries, plagiarism and rebuttals; a wide range of methods of dissemination are considered including the printing press and periodicals, parliamentary debates, academic chairs and societies; the role of individual translators and agents is given due prominence; the political interpretations of the Wealth of Nations and the ways in which the book was incorporated into the work of Spanish economists in the decades following publication are also considered. This book marks a significant contribution to the literature on the reception of Smith's Wealth of Nations, studies of the Spanish Enlightenment and history of economic thought more broadly.

Jesús Astigarraga holds a PhD in Economics and a PhD in History, and is a Full Professor at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. Juan Zabalza holds a PhD in Economics and is an Associate Professor at the University of Alicante, Spain.

1. Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations in Spain: a State of the Art Section I. Translations 2. Smith, Campomanes and a Networked Translator: John Geddes and the Early History of English Print in Spain 3. Vicente Alcalá-Galiano: an Interpretation of Smith Between the Public Sphere and the State Apparatus 4. A New Analysis of Martínez de Irujo's Compendio de la Riqueza de las Naciones and the Role of Marquis de Condorcet 5. The First Complete Spanish Translation of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations: José Alonso Ortiz's Riqueza de las naciones (1794) 6. José Alonso Ortiz, Adam Smith's translator: a new interpretation Section II. Influences 7. Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations: The First Spanish Readings in Spain, 1777-1800 8. Nuancing Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations' Reception and Influences in Spain, 1800-1820 9. "Readings" of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations by Spanish Economists, 1820-1840 Section III. Institutions 10. Adam Smith in the Spanish Press, 1780-1808 11. Adam Smith in the Chairs on Political Economy in Spain, 1780-1823 12. Adam Smith and the Cortes of Cádiz (1810-1813): more than Enlightened Liberalism 13. Adam Smith in the Economic Debates during the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823), the Second Liberal Exile and Hispanic America 14. Spanish Translations of The Wealth of Nations: Beyond the Enlightenment, 1792-2020