Vino - History Lab https://historylab.es Fri, 20 May 2022 15:09:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://historylab.es/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-icono-historylab-32x32.jpg Vino - History Lab https://historylab.es 32 32 Wheat prices and wine prices in 17th century Spain (annual averages expressed in index numbers) https://historylab.es/wheat-prices-and-wine-prices-in-17th-century-spain-annual-averages-expressed-in-index-numbers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wheat-prices-and-wine-prices-in-17th-century-spain-annual-averages-expressed-in-index-numbers Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:02 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/precios-del-trigo-y-precios-del-vino-en-la-espana-del-siglo-xvii-medias-anuales-expresadas-en-numeros-indice/ Comparative price of wine and wheat in Golden Age Spain

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]]> Different considerations have been made about the evolution of the Spanish economy during the 17th century, in which the existence of a generalised and prolonged crisis in the Spain of the misnamed minor Habsburgs was acknowledged. However, during that period the number of active people did not fall, agricultural production had precisely to register a downward trend, where there was a “hidden unemployment” and the decrease in the cultivated area allowed the average quality of the cultivated land to improve and the breeding of livestock to expand. In this sense, it would have to be admitted that in Castilla la Nueva the trend in relative prices not only justified the planting of vines on “bread and butter” land during the first half of the 17th century, but encouraged just the opposite. The Rioja wine price series is much more reliable, as it relates the prices achieved on the market for a homogeneous product. In the period 1618-1628, the behaviour of the terms of trade significantly encouraged the planting of vines at the expense of arable land. In the first half of the 17th century, the movement of prices did not cause a significant change in the composition of the agricultural product, tending to increase the share of wine at the expense of cereals.

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]]> Collection of municipal taxes on wine to finance the expenses of the Council and the Crown, Madrid 1606-1700 https://historylab.es/collection-of-municipal-taxes-on-wine-to-finance-the-expenses-of-the-council-and-the-crown-madrid-1606-1700/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=collection-of-municipal-taxes-on-wine-to-finance-the-expenses-of-the-council-and-the-crown-madrid-1606-1700 Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/recaudacion-de-impuestos-municipales-sobre-el-vino-para-financiar-los-gastos-del-concejo-y-la-corona-madrid-1606-1700/ Table of the evolution of wine taxation in Madrid reflecting the importance of this product in everyday life and the material benefit that the authorities gained in times of economic stress

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]]> Throughout the 17th century, the costly wars between the Spanish Empire and the European territories led to increased spending by the Treasury. One way to alleviate the budgetary imbalance was to increase the tax burden on citizens and on the products they consumed. Although the new taxation sparked numerous revolts and riots, the tax burden settled down: in Castile, between 1577 and 1666, the Crown’s tax revenue rose from 2.6 million ducats to 5.7 million ducats. In this context, wine, popularly used, was a source of tax revenue. In Madrid, in addition to nourishing the Crown’s treasury, the Conejo added a parallel increase for its municipal benefit. The resource shows the evolution of the collection of wine according to the purpose of the collection and the amount in millions of maravedís obtained. Between 1607 and 1640, the municipal tax payments were used to pay the town’s expenses; it was the introduction of wine from Olivenza in 1644 when part of this collection was destined for the Crown. From that moment on, the tax burden on wine served to cover more and more of the Crown’s needs, rising from 7% in 1644 to 64% in 1700. This rise was paralleled by a steady increase in taxes on the litre of wine: while in 1606-1610 the taxes represented 27% of the price of a litre, between 16666 and 1670 they rose to 65%. Why did the authorities tax wine with special interest? Its wide distribution and inelastic demand made it favourable for securing a constant income. Such was its importance that at the end of the 17th century, wine taxes accounted for 40-45% of the total tax revenues collected in Madrid.

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