Delving into the effectiveness and limits of economic rhetoric in 17th-century SpainOn the use and misuse of tropes in monetary treatises (1600–1642)

The rhetoric in economic treatises featuring proposed solutions to the economic problems faced by 17th-century Castille, followed similar trends as the literature and poetry of the baroque. These treatises are interesting from a semiotic point of view as an array of tropes, particularly metaphors and simile, are commonplace in economic literature. Drawing from the late Scholastics of the School of Salamanca (16th century), 17th-century treatises present a view of the whole economy, with a special focus on problems that required urgent solutions. Following a series of coin debasements carried out by Phillip III (1578–1621) and Phillip IV (1605–1665), 17th-century Castille went through decades of monetary instability and was in constant need of monetary reforms. This chapter presents a collection of tropes found in monetary writings. A fuller picture of the perception and the portrayal of monetary problems in 17th-century Castille has been sought by integrating a semiotic perspective to the analysis of rhetoric in economic treatises.