The tradition of studies within economic history dates back to the Enlightenment. The works of Asso¹, Capmany², Labrada³, Cavanilles⁴, Larruga⁵ y Gallardo Fernández⁶ -some of the most influencial authors in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century- are among the pioneers. The first impulse was maintained during the first half of the nineteenth century thanks to contributions of Canga Argüelles⁷ and Ramon de la Sagra⁸, even so the conditions for its development were not very favorable because economics lacked university studies in Spain until mid twentieth century. Only a few case studies in Law History addressed collateral economic issues: Manuel Colmeiro⁹, Rafael Altamira¹⁰ or Costa¹¹ are some of the most significant authors.

Throughout the first third of the twentieth century, economic history found a place at the Law Colleges, particularly in the History of Law. s de Derecho, sobre todo bajo la tutela de la Historia del Derecho. Ramón Carande, considered as the first economic historian, developed his research from his Chair of Hacienda Pública at the Faculty of Law, University of Murcia in 1915, which he later continued in Seville. At that time, economic history has benefited from the intellectual influence of authors such as Sanchez Albornoz, Garcia Valdeavellano and Torres López, gathered around the journal Anuario de Historia del Derecho Español, where members of the French school of Annales such as Marc Bloch published their works.

A new impetus came from the hand of Hispanic Americans in the years before the Spanish Civil War: Hamilton, Klein, Hussey, and Usher engaged in the study of the imperial period and Edwin Gay´s disciples. Their influence marked the birth of economic history in Spain, with clear links to the German Historical School. This first generation of economic historians, Flores de Lemus´ disciples, formed in German universities such as Ramón Carande and Antonio Matilla Tascón.

Around 1933, Keynes's visit to the Free Education Institute lives on in memory, economic studies were established at the Universities of Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia. But the outbreak of the Civil War and the long postwar period had negative effects on both the teaching of economics and economic history in Spain. The exile deprived both subjects of many of the scholars who had contributed to their improvement. The intellectual environment for those who stayed herewas extremely hostile. Economic history works were suspected to have been based on historical materialism. Away from their professorships, the Moneda y Crédito journal was the only means for economic historians. In exceptional circumstances, Ramón Carande could publish Carlos V y sus Banqueros (V Charles and his Bankers) in 1943, the most ambitious and comprehensive monograph ever written by a Spanish economic historian. Also, Larraz´s investigations came to light, the first works dealing with the opressed Spanish nineteenth century.

The French historian Pierre Vilar was particularly influential. Professor at the Sorbonne in Paris, he started in the historical school of Ernest Labrousse and led a new historiographical trend advocating for history as a whole, in which economic and social history played a major role. His work exerted great influence on Spanish historiography, particularly Catalonia, during the years 1960-1970.

From the fifties, Economic History progressed at the same rate new Economics Colleges demanded, increasing the number of students, which also led to higher number of teachers. Between 1944 and 1966, we can highlight the following economic historians: José Luis Sureda and Fabián Estapé, with the influence of Luis García de Valdeavellano, in Barcelona; later, Jaume Vicens i Vives and his school. Jose Mª Zumalacárregui, Alberto Ullastres and Carmelo Viñas y Mey, later: Gonzalo Anesand Francisco Simón Segura in Madrid; Felipe Ruiz Martín in Bilbao –the main diffuser of Annales in España– and Ramón Carande in Sevilla. The contributions to the analysis of the Spanish economic past from the former Spanish Finance Minister: José Larraz, who coordinated the volume on the Centenary of the Banco de Bilbao in 1957, should be noted.

Fabián Estapé Rodríguez (Portbou, Gerona, 1923). In 1954 he was appointed Professor of Economic History at the University of Barcelona. Rector of the University of Barcelona (1969-1971 and 1974-1976). Jaime I Award in Economics (1995)

The 1970s resulted in the full institutionalization of the discipline. The introduction of new studies of Economics at Universities of Valladolid, Alicante, Santiago de Compostela, Malaga, and Zaragoza was decisive. Around the figures of Anes, Fontana, Nadal, Ruiz Martín and Tortella a new and large group of economic historians emerged such as Ángel García Sanz, Emiliano Fernández de Pinedo, Antonio Miguel Bernal, Pedro Tedde, Luis Maria Bilbao, García Lombardero, Ramon Garrabou, Jaume Torras, Rafael Anes

The celebration of the I Congress on Economic History at Barcelona on May 11-12, 1972 marked its coming-out, the Proceedings were published by Ariel in 1974, with the title: Agricultura, comercio colonial y crecimiento económico en la España contemporánea eds Gabriel Tortella & Jordi Nadal The publication of articles in journals such as Hacienda Pública Española, Información Comercial Española or Investigaciones Económica became increasingly common.

Also in the 70s there was a turn towards the study of the Spanish economy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, evidenced by the publication of collective works about the Banco de España, Spanish economy in the mid-nineteenth century, and restoration banking or railways. Also, Nadal´s works about the industrialization, Tortella´s about the origins of capitalism, Simón Segura´s about the confiscations, and Roldán and García Delgado´s on the Spanish economy during the First World War.

Jordi Nadal´s books, the Failure of the Industrial Revolution in Spain (1973, 1975) were a complete success, as Tortella said ten years later, in such a way that the final version has been acclaimed as a bedside book for the economists who studied economic history in the 70s and 80s. The book promoted the debate on the Spanish economic backwardness and led to the proliferation of studies.

The significant development of the discipline in the field of research was due to the creation of new Economics and Business Colleges together with the increase in staff all over Spain because of the growing demand of Economics and Business Studies. Except for some exceptions, Economic History could not enter into the Art studies. In addition, in the late 1970s of the twentieth century it began to be interpreted and analysed acutely. Retrospective studies of Economic Structure´s authors such as Muñoz, Roldán and García Delgado, and the translation of Malefakis´ monograph about the agrarian reform at the second republic, encouraged economic historians to address the decades before the Civil War. The financial support from the Banco de España for this area of research was decisive.

The history of economic though also advanced, thanks to the intellectual effort of Peter Schwartz, who led the group in Madrid, and Ernest Lluch in Barcelona, whose numerous contributions strengthened the development of this discipline from Barcelona.

Cliometrics influence was immediate. Throughout the eighties the new economic history strongly dominated the Spanish historiographical landscape, whilst declining in Anglo Saxon countries. Antonio Gómez Mendoza, Leandro Prados de la Escosura and Pedro Fraile, trained at British and American universities, spread this school in our country. Its techniques and instruments were applied to estimate the social saving which would result from the construction of the railway in Spain, the cost of the colonies loss, and customs protection. Their works impacted enormously among the new generation of Spanish economic historians. Throughout the entire decade many of the works about the economic history of contemporary Spain, mainly Revista de Historia Económica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, reported from national and macroeconomic perspectives together with somehow counterfactual and econometric contrast.

The publication of La Nueva Historia Económica de España in 1985 showed the vitality of Cliometrics in the Hispanic territory: Leandro Prados de la Escosura, Pablo Martín Aceña, Pedro Fraile, Antonio Gómez Mendoza, Albert Carreras, James Simpson, Pedro Tedde, Francisco Comín and Sebastián Coll; although many of them cultivated an economic history with a more solid theoretical support, rather than a proper New Economic History. Also, the contribution of authors such as Carlos Barciela, Jordi Maluquer de Motes, Jordi Palafox, Pere Pascual, Carles Sudrià to the renewal of the discipline remains unquestioned.

The discipline was fully strengthened in the 1980s. Several factors confirm this: the creation of university departments in the same area of knowledge, favoured by the new Ley de Reforma Universitaria; the creation of various associations and scientific journals, in addition to the Asociación de Historia Económica and Revista de Historia Económica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History (RHE) in 1983. The ADHE (Asociación de Demografía Histórica) was created, that published the ADEH Bulletin. Finally, congresses of Historia Económica were regularized: II Congress (Alcalá de Henares, December 1981), III Congress (Segovia, October 1985), IV Congress (Alicante, December 1989).