Tomás de Mercado

Tomás de Mercado (c. 1525–1575) was a Spanish Dominican theologian and economist of the School of Salamanca. He joined the Dominicans in New Spain as a young man, then returned to study at Salamanca University, where he lectured in philosophy, moral theology and law.

He later worked at the Exchange House of Seville, a centre of Spain's international money flows. His Summa de tratos y contratos of 1571, a manual of deals and contracts, made him a founder of Iberian monetarism, and he died at sea returning to Mexico.