Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires

The Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires was a governing body of colonial Argentina Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, established in 1794 at the request of local merchants and operating under the authority of the Spanish Crown and the regulations of the House of Trade in Seville. It functioned as a collegial body with two roles, a commercial court known simply as the Court that settled merchant disputes and claims and oversaw customs matters, and a society of economic development known as the Governing Board that promoted agriculture and industry through annual consular reports and levied taxes to finance itself. Manuel Belgrano served as its first and only Secretary from 1794, using the position to advocate for regional economic development while maintaining deference to royal authority. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/