The School of Salamanca: How Spanish Monks Invented Modern Economics

Long before Adam Smith, a group of 16th-century Spanish theologians at the University of Salamanca were wrestling with inflation, price controls, and the morality of money. They called themselves the School of Salamanca, and they effectively invented modern economic theory—arguing for free markets, private property, and the subjective theory of value centuries before the Enlightenment. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the flood of New World silver from Potosí caused a price revolution in Spain, and how thinkers like Francisco de Vitoria, Domingo de Soto, and Martín de Azpilcueta used scholastic philosophy to explain it all. They debated usury, just war, and whether the king had the right to tax the poor. Their ideas spread across Europe, influencing Dutch traders, French physiocrats, and eventually the Scottish Enlightenment. Yet today, these Spanish monks are largely forgotten. Join us as we uncover the surprising origins of supply and demand. #SchoolOfSalamanca #FranciscoDeVitoria #DomingoDeSoto #MartinDeAzpilcueta #PriceRevolution #PotosiSilver #SpanishGoldenAge #ScholasticEconomics #UsuryDebate #JustWarTheory #SubjectiveTheoryOfValue #InflationSpain #ValladolidDebate #UniversityOfSalamanca #CatholicMoralEconomics #EarlyCapitalism #History #FexingoHistory #SpainHistory #Reconquista Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo