The Consulado de mercaderes was the merchant guild of Seville founded in 1543; the Consulado enjoyed virtual monopoly rights over goods shipped to America, in a regular and closely controlled West Indies Fleet, and handled much of the silver this trade generated.
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In the mid-16th century, all American trade from Spain was funnled through the city of Seville, and later, the nearby port of Cádiz. The Casa de Contratación, which translated into English means the Board of Trade, registered ships and passengers, kept charts, collected taxes, and in general controlled the Indies trade. In order to survive and maintain an effictive business, the Casa de Contratación worked in conjunction with the merchant guild Consulado, who in turn controlled goods shipped to America and was paid vast amounts of silver in return for their cooperation.
Since they controlled most of the trade in the Indies colonies, and since the Consulado was linked to the branches in Mexico City and Lima (and in the eighteenth century, other ports as well), the Consulado was able to keep tight control over Spanish trade. Because of this, the Consulado was able to keep prices high in all of the colonies, and were able to play a hand in royal politics. The Consulado was able to effectively manipulate the government and people of both Spain and the Indies colonies, and grew richer and more powerful every day because of it.