Objective/context:

This article focuses on a problem common to the pre-statistical economic history of Latin America: the scarcity of sources and the methodological difficulties in studying the evolution of standards of living over time.

Methodology:

We begin with a case study done on the city of Santa Fe, a commercial enclave of the late-colonial Río de la Plata, where four religious orders had settled since the 17th century. Long-term records (1700-1850) from accounting books of convents, which included prices of two basic foodstuffs (yerba mate and sugar), are shown in order to demonstrate the advantages and difficulties of using this source in studying habits of consumption, the evolution of food prices and living conditions in certain urban areas of the colonial era. The exposition includes comparisons of the prices in different convents throughout the period, and specifically discusses the challenges in constructing weighted indexes.

Originality:

Although these records are widely used by the academic literature analyzing this period, no specific comparisons had been made between the accounts of the different religious orders, particularly for a peripheral city of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.

Conclusions:

The final results show not only the usefulness of the source, but also the difficulties in constructing long run series to analyze living standards. Specific and detailed case studies are useful tools in order to improve broad international comparisons.

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