The mobilisation of resources for warfare has traditionally been analysed as an economic and logistic problem. There are, however, other factors like politics or ideology that might also determine the contractor state’s level of efficiency. Drawing on an investigation of how Spain solved its eighteenth-century shipbuilding timber supply needs, we look at how a given mercantilist-leaning political outlook affected the provision of material, with the government turning solely to national production and suppliers. The aim of this article is to analyse the timber supply policy and, therein, the uneasy alliance of a mercantilist ideology with administrative pragmatism. We conclude from this that the Spanish state’s mercantilist ideas ran like a thread through its supply policies; at the same time, paradoxically, the state was the party responsible for most breaches of this policy. These breaches were usually caused by a growing awareness of the advantage of bringing in foreign contractors. The study of the supply of shipbuilding timber shows that foreign contractors, Dutch and merchants from the Baltic, offered not only lower prices but also greater distribution efficiency, while also helping the state to strengthen its sovereignty and authority. The collaboration between the state and the contractors turned mercantilist ideas, in actual practice, into a mere Utopia.

传统上将战争资源的调动分析为经济和后勤问题。但是，还有其他因素（例如政治或意识形态）也可能决定承包商国家的效率水平。基于对西班牙如何解决其18世纪造船木材供应需求的调查，我们考察了重商主义倾向的政治前景如何影响了材料的提供，而政府则完全转向国家生产和供应商。本文旨在分析木材供应政策，并分析其中的重商主义意识形态与行政实用主义的不安联盟。由此我们得出结论，西班牙国家的重商主义思想贯穿其供应政策，就像一条线。同时，自相矛盾的是，该州是大多数违反该政策的责任方。这些违规行为通常是由于对引进外国承包商的好处的意识日益增强引起的。对造船木材供应的研究表明，来自波罗的海的外国承包商，荷兰人和商人不仅提供了较低的价格，而且提供了更高的分配效率，同时还帮助该国增强了主权和权威。国家与承包商之间的合作实际上将重商主义的思想变成了纯粹的乌托邦。不仅提供了更低的价格，而且还提高了分配效率，同时还帮助国家加强了主权和权威。国家与承包商之间的合作实际上将重商主义的想法变成了纯粹的乌托邦。不仅提供了更低的价格，而且还提高了分配效率，同时还帮助国家加强了主权和权威。国家与承包商之间的合作实际上将重商主义的思想变成了纯粹的乌托邦。