The emergence of capitalism in El Salvador

Abstract

From 1864 to 1896, a change took place in the relations of production. Almost all external commercial exchange was carried out through Spanish intermediaries. England, Holland and France were striving to reach a direct deal with the Indies and they achieved it when Spanish political-military power was weakened after the Treaty of Utrecht. The efforts of the government of El Salvador were aimed at promoting the production of a wide variety of plants, with potential value as export products. Producers were allowed to receive preferential treatment. The exportable production of coffee increased, which displaced indigo. Before, in the first half of the s. XIX the English had achieved a monopoly on the Salvadoran indigo trade