adam smith and the wealth of nations in spain: a history of reception, dissemination, adaptation and application, 1778-1840

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.