The organisational structure of Spanish New Settlements in the eighteenth century

This paper analyses the organisational design of New Settlements (NS) of Sierra Morena, a Spanish farming and colonist project of the eighteenth century. Using archival data, historical facts during the period 1767–1772 are identified, collected and examined to understand how these settlements were structured. The reconstructions of their practices demonstrated that, in the eighteenth century, organisations already had the disciplinary techniques and dimensions of Weber's rational-legal bureaucracy. In fact, we observed the evolution of NS through three different organisational structures (configurations) to become more effective – rational – over time. This comprehensive analysis also provides evidence of how the colonies' growth (and their organisational complexity) implied changes to the co-ordination mechanisms used.