For two centuries, the ships that sailed from Spain to the Americas were licensed, loaded, charted and taxed by an institution with its offices inside the Real Alcázar: the Casa de la Contratación, the House of Trade. It was founded in 1503, eleven years after Columbus's first voyage, and it turned Seville into the gateway between Europe and the New World. The rooms it used, the Cuarto del Almirante (Admiral's Quarter), are part of your visit today.
They are included in the general ticket (€15.50).
What the Casa de la Contratación was
The Crown of Castile created the House of Trade in 1503 to control everything that went to and came from the Americas through the port of Seville. It combined roles that today would belong to a customs office, a trade ministry, a naval school and a map archive:
Licensing ships, cargoes and emigrants bound for the Americas.
Registering goods and treasure arriving from across the Atlantic, and collecting the Crown's share.
Training and examining pilots in navigation.
Mapmaking: it kept the Padrón Real, the official master map of the known world, updated with every returning expedition and treated as a state secret.
Settling the estates of Spaniards who died overseas.
Seville held this monopoly because of its river port on the Guadalquivir, protected inland yet navigable to the sea.
Columbus, Vespucci and the pilots
Christopher Columbus's voyages came just before the House of Trade existed, but the institution grew directly out of them, and it managed the traffic his discoveries created.
In 1508 the Crown created a new post for Amerigo Vespucci: piloto mayor, chief pilot, responsible for training and examining the pilots who would sail to the Indies and for keeping the master map. The Florentine navigator, whose name the continent of America now bears, held the post until his death in 1512. Later holders included Sebastian Cabot.
From Seville to Cádiz
The House of Trade stayed in Seville for more than two centuries. As larger ships struggled with the river, it moved to Cádiz in 1717, and it was abolished in 1790.
Its archives are now at the General Archive of the Indies, across the square from the Alcázar, in a building that began as Seville's merchants' exchange.
What to see in the Cuarto del Almirante
The Admiral's Quarter opens off the Patio de la Montería, before you reach the Palace of Pedro I. It is often quieter than the rest of the palace.
The Virgin of the Navigators
The room's great treasure is an altarpiece painting known as The Virgin of the Navigators (Virgen de los Mareantes). The Virgin spreads her cloak over sailors and ships, sheltering them. It is often described as the first painting to depict the discovery of the Americas. Take time with it: the ships, the figures under the mantle and the sea below tell the story of the institution that commissioned it.
The rooms themselves
The quarter is a sequence of halls with later decoration and paintings. It is a short stop, ten minutes or so, but it changes how you see the rest of the Alcázar: this palace was not only a royal residence, it was the administrative heart of an empire's trade.
Most guided tours stop here to tell the story of the Americas trade. The guided tour with priority access (from €56.00, free cancellation) covers the Alcázar's history; the Viator best seller adds the Cathedral, where Columbus is buried. See Alcázar vs Cathedral.
Frequently asked questions
What was the Casa de la Contratación?
Spain's House of Trade, founded in 1503 in Seville to control shipping, trade and navigation with the Americas.
Is it inside the Real Alcázar?
Its offices occupied the Cuarto del Almirante (Admiral's Quarter) of the Alcázar, which you can visit.
What was Amerigo Vespucci's job there?
From 1508 he was piloto mayor, chief pilot, until his death in 1512.
Why Seville?
Its protected river port on the Guadalquivir gave it the royal monopoly on trade with the Americas.
When did it leave Seville?
It moved to Cádiz in 1717 and was abolished in 1790.
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