The lexicographic representation of colonial Spain in late 18th-century British dictionaries of trade and commerce

The general aim of this contribution is both a close examination of the lexis of trade and commerce related to Spain, and a discussion on its cultural assumptions as they emerge from prefaces and from a selected number of entries. The approach is mainly qualitative (close reading of selected materials), but a preliminary corpus-based quantitative approach to identify relevant entries or passages and to collect data is necessary. The starting point for the selection of entries and further in-depth qualitative analysis are the words Spain, Spanish, Spaniard/s. The investigation will demonstrate that the lexis of trade and commerce related to Spain is not only informative and/or descriptive in the three dictionaries (i.e. terminology covering procedures, products, places, plants, habits, events, etc.), but carries with it the British representation of competition, and of an interesting debate on commercial policy. Sources: Postlethwayt (1751-1755), Rolt (1756), and Mortimer (1766).