The Impact of the Merchant’s Confession in the Development of Business Law during the Siglo de Oro: the Casuistic Approach of Tomàs de Mercado and Martin de Azpilcueta to Commercial Law.

In 16th century Spain, the confessor and the merchant had a privileged relationship, resulting from the new economic practices induced by the Great Discoveries. The merchant must, for the salvation of his soul, engage in commercial activity in accordance with Christian morality. Through confession, the confessor provides legal and theological advices necessary to achieve this purpose, but also judges the morality of his penitent by deciding whether or not to absolve him. Therefore, the confessor must know both the Christian moral precepts designed to govern business life, and the institutions of civil law used in business practice. An issue raised by the penitent is a case of conscience, which the confessor must resolve by formulating a moral resolution. This resolution could be a certain or only a probable one, and therefore subject to debate against other probable opinions. These resolutions were then incorporated among others into the casuistic literature that was to be diffused throughout Europe for the use of both confessors and penitents.