The government of Spain, beginning in 1764, made notable breaches in the old monopolistic system of colonial trade throughout America; and Cuba received special privileges, also, that were a basis for real prosperity.
The creation in 1140 of a monopolistic trading-company was an event of importance in the history of the island.
Brentano (On Gilds) holds that it is wrong to represent such regulations as monopolistic, inasmuch as there was no question whatever of a monopoly in that time nor until the degeneration of the craftgilds into limited corporations of capitalists.
But while it was found impossible to enforce the staple or to close the Sound against the Dutch, other features of the monopolistic system of trade regulations were still upheld.
