came to be considered derogatory at the time. They were seen to be equivalent to absurd and impossible opinions and certain characters called "crazy reasoners" or "republican and government crazy" of the time. The first use of the concept of arbitrismo in that context has been found in El colloquio de los perros, one of the exemplary novels of Cervantes (1613). Francisco de Quevedo, in several passages of his works, describes well-meaning arbitristas ("arcigogolantes") as the cause of all kinds of catastrophes; one of them is so engrossed in writing his theories that he does not realize that he has taken out an eye with his pen. Some of their more outlandish schemes were satirized, including inventors of useless gadgets and alchemy. This attitude of ridicule is still present in the colloquial meaning of the word. Notable arbitristas Tomás de Mercado Tomás de Mercado, a Sevillian who died in 1575, continued in the tradition of the School of Salamanca and when young went to Mexico. His vision of Spain's economic problems took into account the Indies. He became a Dominican friar in 1553, earning a doctorate in theology and standing out as a moralist. He reflected on the ethics of commercial relations and on returning to Spain he taught at the universities of Seville and Salamanca. In 1569 he published Sum of deals and contracts, that was reedited two years later. It describes the mercantile uses of the time in Seville and Medina del Campo. This work reflects on the foundation of interest praising the ethical uses of finances and counter to the restrictive interpretation of the Catholic Church that deemed it usury. The analysis raises and deepens the quantitative theory of money from the tradition of the School of Salamanca, especially with regard to the international circulation of foreign currency. Luis Ortiz Luis Ortiz was active during the second half of the sixteenth century and accountant of the Treasury of Castile during the reign of Philip II, wrote a memorial to the King so that no monies leave Spain, after the bankruptcy of the Austrias. This was the first text of the Spanish mercantilists, in which he considers that the decline in prices lies in the conservation of gold in Castile and, for this purpose, he creates a plan with which he intends to promote resources. The memorial was published in 1558 and did not have much impact, despite