83. Bill of exchange drawn in Seville by Alonso de Betolaza to Simón Ruiz in Medina del Campo

Archivo Simón Ruiz
ASR, CC, LC 1–3, 22
SENDER: Alonso de Betolaza
ADDRESSEE: Simón Ruiz
PLACE OF DEPARTURE: Seville
PLACE OF ARRIVAL: Medina del Campo
GENERAL INFORMATION: Manuscript on paper/bill. Seville, 20 October 1559.

This bill is an example of what the Italians called a ‘cambio con ricorsa’, an internal exchange of money in which the drawee and the payee are the same person, characterised by the fact that the wording of the text uses the formula pagará vuestra merced a sí mismo (your mercy will pay to yourself). Thus, the payment of the draft reduces the intervention to a mere transfer from one account to another in the correspondent’s books, resembling a loan rather than an ordinary exchange.

(Fernando Ramos González)