La Fisiocracia en España: los Principes de la législation universelle (1776) de G. L. Schmid d´Avenstein

Abstract

Although there is a range of articles around that describe and analyse the spread of Physiocracy in Spain, up until now none of them focused on the contribution made to this process by G. L. Schmid d'Avestein, a member of the Swiss Enlightenment. His Principes de la législation universelle (1776) dealt with the subject of law making in great detail and also contained a complete exposition of Physiocratic doctrine; it became internationally well-known. This article sets out to look at how translations of the work contributed to its dissemination in Spain. It opens with a detailed analysis of the translations done between 1790 and 1840 and goes on to make a variety of observations on how Physiocracy spread internationally and the different mediums that contributed to this process, when and how well It was received in Spain and the role that the ideas of the économistes played in the emergence and consolidation of liberal Political Economy in our country.