and politicians observed that the importation of gold and silver from the Americas led to activities which resulted in price increases, they did not generally regard such imports as the primary cause of price inflation.
A favorite whipping-boy for the Spanish was the foreigner who purchased Spanish goods for export to their own country. Such actions were viewed as a cause of goods shortages in Spain, which, in turn, translated into higher prices. The demand for European exports to the American colonists were viewed in the same light.
The Spanish also zeroed-in on the regrater--the individual who bought products in bulk with the intent in mind of reselling them at a profit in the local market area. The contemporary Spanish viewed this middle-man activity as a prime cause of inflation. They were particularly alarmed at the actions of those regraters who engaged in an early-day version of commodities futures buying--individuals who entered into purchase agreements with farmers for grains
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