From one epistemic community to another: conceptual similarities between the School of Salamanca and the usus modernus Pandectarum on topics of economic dominance (16th-18th centuries)

The School of Salamanca and the usus modernus Pandectarumwere two intellectual currents which emerged from the fundamental societal shifts which came to define the Early Modern Period. Both were faced with unprecedented questions and issues, and both sought to find a workable response to these questions based on a critical approach of their respective traditions. In this presentation, I will zoom in on a series of legal-economic issues which occupied both movements: situations of economic dominance labeled “monopolia". Through analysis of the issue in both the School of Salamanca and the usus modernus, the main argument will be that there were important similarities between these two early modern intellectual communities, both on the conceptual and on the concrete level. On the conceptual level the innovative approach of traditional sources and the practice-oriented nature of their solutions to new societal questions will be highlighted. On the more concrete topic of monopolia, the argument will be made that the School of Salamanca influenced the ideas of the usus modernus to an important extent, and inspired these legal thinkers from the late 17th and early 18th century to come to an intellectual framework they deemed most fit for early modern economic reality. Finally, some suggestions will be made for potential avenues for future research into the link between the School of Salamanca and the usus modernus Pandectarum.