Social and Economic

La Real Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas (1995 version)

Objectives. The objectives of the Guipuzcoana Company were clear and defined. The Province of Guipuzcoa and the merchants of the Consulate of San Sebastián wanted to take over the cocoa trade from Venezuela, a product that arrived in Spain through Dutch hands and at high prices. The King, who granted permission for two ships to be dispatched from Guipuzcoa to Caracas each year, intended that the new company could prevent the smuggling that foreigners, especially the Dutch, carried out with the Caracas colony. If the company prospered, the income for the Royal Treasury would also increase.