A key fact in the development of the commercialisation of salt produced on Ibiza is that in 1499 Ferdinand the Catholic granted a privilege, upon payment of two thousand ducats, whereby the salt mines were exempt from paying taxes because they were an indispensable part of the livelihood of the inhabitants. This was because part of the wealth obtained had to be used to buy grain and other goods that were very difficult to obtain on the island due to its climatic and geographical characteristics, which resulted in land with a low degree of productivity. But this climate had a positive side: a bad year for cereal harvests due to the lack of rain was, on the other hand, an ideal year for salt harvesting.
Throughout the 17th century, the price of salt in Ibiza was constantly changing due to various political decisions taken by the Monarchy during those years. On many occasions, the price did nothing but rise and become continually more expensive, which often led to a drastic drop in sales due to the monarchy’s desire to raise capital through Ibizan salt, clashing completely with the privileged situation signed in 1499 and the current panorama of the international salt trade, in which goods from other places were entering the markets and causing a substantial reduction in prices. In the period analysed at the beginning of the 17th century, we can clearly see a decrease from 4256 pounds in 1604 to 3166 pounds in 1614, a drop of 25.61% in barely ten years.

Collection: Statistics

Project: 2. Social and economic impact of technological revolutions in Europe., 3. Rural world and urban world in the formation of the European identity.

Chronology: XV

Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University

Link: http://www.tiemposmodernos.org/tm3/index.php/tm/article/view/420

Resource type: Statistics

Format: Table

Source: Espino, A. (2015). "El precio político de la sal de Ibiza en el siglo XVII", en Tiempos modernos, nº 31, p. 133.

Language: Spanish

Date: 2015

Owner: Roberto José Alcalde López (Modernalia)

Copyright: ©Tiempos Modernos ©Antonio Espino López

Abstract: First results of the new salt tax in Ibiza between 1604 and 1614

Image
Tags