The Purchase of Wax from Flanders by the Merchants of Burgos According to the Notarial Protocols of Alonso González de Nestares y Aguayo (1561-1568)

Abstract

Notarial protocols keep thousands of deeds of sale of wax from Flanders. This work focuses on the records of the notary of the city of Burgos (Spain), Alonso González de Nestares and Aguayo. The preserved documentation is quite scarce. Only five files remain with chronological gaps: 1561 (February-June), 1564 (January-August), 1568 (December 1567-July 1568), 1575 (without chronological order), and 1576 (December 1575-December 1576). Despite this constraint, the richness of the data the documents contain will help us better understand the wax trade, a very important product in the daily life of man throughout its history. In the mid-16th century, Flanders became the most important wax supplier in Burgos.

Some of the main international merchants are going to be the ones that import the wax and introduce it into the sales channels of the city, closing wholesale deals with other local commercials interested in this business. But the most abundant sales are those made by these local intermediaries to other Burgos, churches, clergy and neighbors of the province; It also allows us to know the price fluctuation.