Aranceles - History Lab

Distribution of foreign textiles through the port of Bilbao between 1710-1714

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:12 +0000

The resource deals with the distribution of foreign fabrics imported from the port of Bilbao during 1710 and 1714, the years in which the War of the Spanish Succession took place. Fabrics destined for Madrid and Toledo paid customs duties in Valmaseda, Orduña, while those bound for the Cantabrian mountain range did so in Vitoria. Taxes were directly proportional to the quality of the fabric: the higher the quality, the higher the tax. From the port of Bilbao they were distributed to wide areas of the peninsular monarchy: the Upper Ebro Valley, the Duero Valley, the Iberian System, Logroño, Soria and Toledo as its extreme points. Where did most of the textiles come from? In the years prior to the war, Holland and England were the two largest exporters (90% of the linen came from Holland). The Royal Order of 3 December 1710 prohibited the importation of Dutch fabrics, thus favouring the British. In the distribution network, Madrid, Toledo, Segovia and Valladolid were the provinces with the highest import ratio, followed by Ávila, Burgos, Palencia, Soria and Logroño. The authors warn us that, due to the war situation, the distribution could have altered with respect to previous years. The Royal Treasury tried to reduce some costs by suspending the payment of pensions, subsidies and other benefits, or by delaying the payment of bureaucratic salaries; this meant that certain privileged groups saw their incomes reduced. At the same time, in Castilian territory, the tax burden on the population was increased. The high taxes and reduced purchasing power led to a lower demand for foreign fabrics.

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Certificate of position with unfilled food prices. Toledo, 1760.

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:14 +0000

The Modern Age concept of tariff that we have here refers to the price at which goods are sold, not to the economic levy on them after passing through customs. The “cédulas de postura” were specific templates that sellers used to set the prices of the products they had for sale. This price was “prefixed” with a tariff that guaranteed the stability of the price range over long periods. This example of an unfilled cédula was placed in the shop or trading post in a visible manner. Each type of shop had its own ticket adapted to the goods on offer. It shows fruit products (pears, plums, peaches, etc.), spices (saffron, oregano, coriander, etc.) and products of animal origin and treatment (cheeses). Selling prices could not exceed those marked on the certificate, under penalty of being punished. Were all types of certificates and tariffs like this? Without prejudice to the example shown, there were several different models of documents depending on whether they were general (municipality level) or specific (shop).

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General tariff of prices and positions of Madrid in 1795

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:14 +0000

In the Modern Age, a tariff could be understood as a monetary levy on passing through specific customs offices, or as the price at which goods were to be sold, and in our case, the general tariff referred to here refers to the latter concept. In our case, the general tariff referred to here refers to the latter concept. How many types of tariffs were there? There were two types of tariffs: specific, for each specific shop, and general, for each population centre. The latter served to establish a general framework of prices and positions of the shops in the locality. They were printed weekly and variations were noted in them. The products subject to this type of control ranged from vegetables, butter and meat to brooms. The marked prices could not be exceeded by the shops under their jurisdiction; otherwise, they were threatened with a penalty “in proportion to their excess”.

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Moderation of prices of all tradable goods… (1680)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:09 +0000

The control of prices in the supply market or shops was determined by the town councils and the government. In the city of Toledo, a printed document was published entitled Moderación de precios de todos géneros comerciables, hecha en virtud de Real Provisión de su Magestad, y señores de su Real Consejo, por la Imperial Ciudad de Toledo. Year 1680, which established the control of non-food manufactured goods. Subsequently, the articulated control system evolved towards more specific positions, such as the so-called “shop tariffs” where each shop had its own stipulated price.

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