Taxes, Alcavala....Indian Tribute....Fifths of the Mines....Lances
....Stamped Paper....Tobacco...._Media Anata_...._Aprovechamientos_
...._Composicion and Confirmacion_ of Lands....Royal Ninths....
Venal Offices....Estrays....Confiscations....Fines....Vacant
Successions...._Almoxarifasgo_...._Corso_...._Armada_....Consulate
...._Cirquito_....Vacant Benefices...._Mesada Ecclesiastica_....
_Media Anata Ecclesiastica_....Restitutions....Bulls.
The system of taxation in the Spanish colonies was as complicated as
their law suits in the courts of justice, and the ingenuity of the
theory practised in the exchequer can only be equalled by the
resignation of the people to the practice. The _alcavala_ was the most
ancient and most productive tax in the colonies; it was granted by the
Cortes to the King of Spain, in 1342, to defray the expenses of the war
against the Moors. At that time it was rated at five per cent., but in
the year 1366 it was increased to ten per cent. The order for the
collection of this tax in Peru was issued in 1591; it was first fixed
here at two per cent., and afterwards increased, according to the
exigences of the state, and the submission of the people, to six and a
half per cent.
This tax was levied on every sale and resale of moveable and immoveable
property; all merchandize, manufactured produce, animals, buildings, in
fine, all kinds of property were liable to this impost the moment they
were brought into the market, and all contracts specified its payment.
Retail dealers generally compounded according to their stock and
presumed sale, and were compelled to abide by the composition.
Those indians who became subject to the law of conquest, that is, all
whose forefathers did not voluntarily resign themselves to the Spanish
authorities, and solicit a curate, without causing any expense to be
incurred in their discovery or subjection, paid an annual tribute from
the age of eighteen to fifty. This tribute varied very much in different
provinces; some paying seven dollars and a half a year, others only two
and a half. An indian might redeem his tribute by advancing a certain
sum, proportionate to his age and the annual tribute. The tax was
collected by the _subdelegados_, governors of districts, who were
allowed six per cent. on the sum gathered, according to the tribute
roll, which was renewed every five years by a commissioner called the
_visitador_. This direct tax was more irksome to the people than any
other, and caused much general discontent, although those who paid it
enjoyed privileges more than equal to the impost.
All metals paid to the King a fifth, for the collection of which proper
officers and offices were established. Gold in its native state was
carried to the royal foundry, _casa real de fundicion_, where it was
reduced to ingots, each of which was assayed and marked, its quality and
weight being specified; after which the fifth was paid, and then it was
offered for sale. Silver was also taken in its pure state, called
_piña_, and it was contraband to sell it until it had been melted, and
each bar marked in the same manner as the gold. Base metals were subject
to a similar impost, but reduced to bars by the miners, who afterwards
paid the fifth.
Titles paid an annual fine of five hundred dollars each to the King,
unless the person in possession redeemed it by paying ten thousand
dollars. This tax, although unproductive in some parts, was worthy of
attention in Lima, where there were sixty-three titled personages,
marquises, counts and viscounts.
All judicial proceedings in the different courts of justice, civil,
criminal, military and ecclesiastical; all agreements, testimonies, and
public acts, were required to be on stamped paper, according to a royal
order dated in 1638. It was stamped in Spain, bearing the date of the
two years for which it was to serve, or was considered to be in force;
after which term it was of no use. The surplus, if any, was cut through
the stamp, and sold as waste paper, and the court took care to supply
another stock for the two succeeding years. If the court neglected to do
this, the old paper was restamped by order of the Viceroy, bearing a fac
simile of his signature. There were four sorts of this paper, or rather
paper of four prices. That on which deeds and titles were written, or
permissions and pardons granted, cost six dollars the sheet; that used
for contracts, wills, conveyances and other deeds drawn up before a
notary, one dollar and a half; that on which every thing concerning a
course of law before the Viceroy or Audience was conducted, half a
dollar; and for writings presented by soldiers, slaves, paupers and
indians, the fourth class was used, and cost the sixteenth of a dollar
each sheet. The first sheet of the class required in any memorial or
document, according to the foregoing rules, was of that price, but the
remainder, if more were wanted, might be of the fourth class or lowest
price, or even of common writing paper.
Tobacco was a royal monopoly, a price being fixed by the government on
the different qualities of this article, according to the province in
which it was grown; at such price the whole was paid for; after which it
was brought to Lima, where it was sold at an established rate at the
_estanco_, or general depôt. If any person either bought or sold tobacco
without a license, confiscation of the article and a heavy fine were the
result, and frequently the whole property of the offender became a
forfeit. On an average, the King purchased it at three reals, three
eighths of a dollar, per pound, and sold it again at two dollars; but
such was the number of officers employed to prevent smuggling, collect
the tobacco, and attend the estanco, that, on the whole, the revenue
suffered very considerably, although the profit was so great. Snuff was
not allowed to be manufactured in Peru; one kind called _polvillo_ was
brought from Seville, and rappee from the Havanna; but both were
included in the royal monopoly. To secure the tax imposed on tobacco, no
one could cultivate it without express permission from the Director;
and, on delivery, the planter was obliged to make oath as to the number
of plants which he had harvested; also that he had not reserved one leaf
for his own use, nor for any other purpose. This tyrannical monopoly
produced more hatred to the Spanish government than all the other
taxes. Not only every tobacco planter, but every consumer joined in
execrating so disagreeable an impost.
The _media anata_, or moiety of the yearly product of all places or
employments under government, was paid into the treasury, or rather
reserved out of the stipend when the payment was made by the treasury.
This moiety was deducted for the first year only, and if the individual
were promoted to a more lucrative situation, he again paid the surplus
of his appointment for one year.
_Aprovechamientos_, or profits, were, in seized goods, the excess of
their valuation over their sale, which excess was paid into the treasury
so that the King took the goods as they were appraised by _his
officers_, and appropriated to himself the profit of the public sale.
Composition and confirmation of lands were the produce arising from the
sale of lands belonging to the crown, and the duty paid by the purchaser
for the original title deeds.
The royal ninths, _novenos reales_, were the one ninth of all the tithes
collected: the amount was paid into the treasury. Tithes were
established in America by an edict of Charles V. dated the 5th of
October, 1501. They were at first applied wholly to the support of the
church; but in 1541 it was ordained that they should be divided into
four parts; one to be given to the bishop of the diocese, one to the
chapter, and out of the remainder two ninths should belong to the crown,
three for the foundation of churches and hospitals, and four ninths for
the support of curates and other officiating ecclesiastics. This
distribution was afterwards altered, and the seven ninths of the moiety
were applied to the latter purpose. The tithe on sugar, cocoa, coffee
and other agricultural productions which required an expensive process
before they were considered as articles of commerce paid only five per
cent.; but ten per cent. was rigorously exacted on all produce and
fruits which did not require such a process. Tobacco, being a royal
monopoly, paid no tithes.
All offices in the _cabildos_, excepting those of the two _alcaldes_;
those of notaries, _escribanos_, receivers and recorders of the
audience, paid a fine to the King on his appointment, in proportion to
the value of the office, but the incumbent was allowed to sell his
appointment, on certain conditions established by law, which conditions,
however, almost debarred any person from being a purchaser.
All property found was to be delivered to the solicitor of the treasury;
and if it remained one year unclaimed it was declared to belong to the
crown. All contraband or confiscated property paid to the King the
duties which would have been paid had the commodity been regularly
imported or exported; after which the value produced by sale, the
_aprovechamiento_ being deducted, was divided among the informer, the
captors, the intendant, the Council of Indies and the King. Fines
imposed as penalties in the different courts of justice belonged to the
crown, and were paid into the treasury. The property of any person dying
intestate appertained to the King. The revenue arising from commerce was
exacted under a great many heads, and was as complicated a system as the
rest of the Spanish proceedings, which appeared to be directed to the
employment of a number of officers and the diminution of finance.
The _almoxarifasgo_ was paid on whatever was either shipped or landed;
on entering any Spanish port five per cent. was paid, on going out, two
per cent.
The _corso_ was levied on entry as well as departure, being in both
cases two per cent. The duty called _armada_ was a tax established for
defraying the expenses incurred in the protection of vessels against
pirates; that of _corso_ against enemies in time of war; but although
the former might not exist, and the latter have ceased, the tax was
still levied, in contradiction to the old rule, that the effect ceases
with the cause. The armada was four per cent. on entry, and two on
departure. The duty of the consulate was received at the maritime custom
houses, and the product accounted for to the tribunal; it was one per
cent. on entry, and one on departure.
Besides the foregoing taxes, the tariff taxes were paid, the list of
which would be too long for insertion. In 1810 the Viceroy Abascal
issued a decree, by which British manufactured goods were permitted to
be brought across the Isthmus of Panama, and thence to Callao, on
condition of their paying a duty of thirty-seven and a half per cent.,
called _el derecho de cirquito_, circuit duty, in addition to all the
other taxes. A merchant in Lima assured me, that having remitted thirty
thousand dollars to Jamaica, to be employed in the purchase of cotton
goods, the expenses of freight, the porterage, and the duties together
amounted to forty-two thousand three hundred and seventy-five dollars by
the time the goods were warehoused in Lima.
Among the ecclesiastical contributions to the state were major and minor
vacancies, which were the rents of vacant bishoprics, prebendaries and
canonries; these rents were paid into the treasury until the new
dignitary was appointed, and took possession of his benefice.
The _mesada ecclesiastica_ was the amount of the first month, or the
twelfth part of the annual income of each rector after his presentation
to a new benefice. This was estimated by the solicitor of the treasury,
and religiously exacted.
The _media anata ecclesiastica_ was the proceeds of the first six months
which the dignitaries and canons of the chapters paid out of the income
of their benefices. Restitution was the money which penitents delivered
to their confessors, being the amount of what they believed they had
defrauded the crown, by smuggling, or other unlawful practices. The name
of the restitutionist was kept a profound secret; all that the confessor
had to do was, to deliver the money he might receive to the collector at
the treasury. This was giving to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's.
The greatest amount of revenue which the King received from the church
arose from the sale of bulls; and of these there was a great variety.
Jovellanos says, in his description of the pope's bulls, "that they are
a periodical publication of the highest price, least value, meanest
type, and worst paper; all buy them, few read them, and none understand
them."
The bulls were first granted by the popes as a kind of passport to
heaven to all those who died in the wars against infidels; they
contained most extraordinary dispensations, both with respect to
Christian duties in this world and to the punishment due to crimes in
the next; and although the crusades, and other wars that drove men to
heaven, or to some other place, at the point of the lance, or sword, had
ceased, yet the influence of the bulls in increasing the revenue was of
too great importance to the king for him to allow them to die with the
cause that gave them birth: their effects were too useful to be
renounced.
According to the original terms of the bulls, no person could reap the
benefit unless he were actually serving in the war; afterwards he might
procure a substitute and remain secure at home; but now he can enjoy the
blessings of peace at a much cheaper rate. The bulls sold in South
America were, the general bull for the living, or of the holy crusade;
the bull of _lacticinios_, milk food; of _composicion_, accommodation;
and the bull for the dead.
The general bull for the living retained its virtue in the hands of its
possessor for two years, at which period it expired, but the benefit
might be renewed by purchasing another. The advantages derived from the
possession of this bull included generally all those of the other three
though not in so direct a manner; having this, no cases were reserved
for papal absolution; all kinds of vows might be released, excepting
those which would contribute more to the church by their fulfilment;
blasphemy was forgiven; any thing except flesh meat might be eaten on
fast days; and one day of fasting, one prayer repeated, or one good deed
done, was equal to fifteen times fifteen forties of fast days, prayers,
or good deeds done by the unlucky being who had not purchased this bull.
Nay more--the buying of two bulls conveyed to the purchaser a double
portion of privileges. The price of this precious paper varied according
to the rank of the sinful purchaser: a viceroy, captain-general of a
province, lieutenant-general of the army and their wives paid fifteen
dollars for each bull; archbishops, bishops, inquisitors, canons, dukes,
marquises, and all noblemen, also magistrates and many others, five
dollars each; every individual who was in possession of property to the
amount of 6000 dollars, paid one dollar and a half for his bull; and all
persons under this class enjoyed all the privileges conceded to the rich
and powerful, for two and a half reals, or five sixteenths, of a dollar
each.
The bull of _lacticinios_, or milk food, was issued for the benefit of
the clergy, they not being allowed by the general bull to eat such
dainties on fast days; but as the result did not answer the expectations
of the crown the commissary-general recommended the laity to purchase it
for the prevention of conscientious scruples. Archbishops, bishops, and
conventual prelates paid six; canons, dignitaries and inquisitors, paid
three; rectors and curates one and a half, and all other secular priests
one dollar for each bull. A celebrated Spanish writer, speaking of this
bull, says, "the holy father has only allowed them these dainties when
they can be procured, another bull is wanting to eat them at all events,
but for this purpose the bull of _composicion_ may be made to answer."
This bull of composition, or accommodation, is monstrous; for it gives
to the possessor of stolen property a quiet conscience and absolute
possession, on condition that he has stolen it evading the punishment
applicable by law; that he knows not the person whom he has robbed or
defrauded, and that the knowledge of this accommodating bull did not
induce him to commit the theft. Thus this papal pardon by accommodation
or agreement insures to a lawless villain a quiet possession of
property, the means of acquiring which ought to have been rewarded by
the hangman! The possessor of the unlawfully acquired property fixed a
value on it, and purchased bulls to the amount of six per cent. on the
principal. Only fifty bulls could be purchased in one year by one
individual, but if he required more, he applied to the
commissary-general, whose indulgence might be purchased.
The bull for the dead was a kind of safe conduct to paradise--the
masonic sign to Saint Peter for admission there, or a discharge from
purgatory, if the soul of the deceased had reached this place before the
bull was purchased, or if by some mishap the name of the individual had
not been written on it, or had been wrongly spelled. How unfortunate
must those pious Christians have been who lived, or rather who died at a
great distance from the bull vender, or who had not the means of
purchasing this pontifical passport; for every person must have one, the
article not being transferable, because this would injure the market;
but any person was allowed to purchase more than one and at any period
after the death of the person he wished to befriend, as its powerful
influence might be extended to the general benefit and alleviation of
souls in purgatory. Thus it is that piety when accompanied with money
has wonderful powers! All persons included among the first class of
purchasers of the general bull paid six eighths of a dollar, six reals,
for one for the dead, if he belonged to this class, but if he were of
the fourth it only cost two reals, two eighths of a dollar.
I shall not pretend to give an estimate of the sum produced by the
taxes, the jealousy of the Spaniards towards a foreigner being so great
that it would have been dangerous for me even to have inquired. The two
following items I obtained by chance:
DOLLARS.
The Custom House of Lima received in 1805 1592837-2½
Ditto in 1810 1640324-4
Produce of bulls in the Commissary's }
office for the Viceroyalty of Peru } in 1805 91021
Ditto in 1810 97340-2