Glossary

• Alcabala: Tribute paid by the foreigner for the goods he sold.

• Almojarifazgo: Duty paid on goods or merchandise leaving the kingdom, on those brought into it, or on those traded from one port to another within Spain.

• Tithe: Tax consisting of one tenth of the fruits or products of the land. It was ecclesiastical –with the “first fruits”– and in Spain it was suppressed in 1837.

• Gabela: Tax that was paid every time something was bought or sold.

• Pontazgo: Fees paid in some areas to cross bridges.

• Toll: Fees paid to pass through a specific place on a road.

• Doors (Right of) : The tax paid for the entry of products and merchandise into towns and which was a tax on consumption. It was collected at customs offices or “internal customs offices.” It constituted an obstacle to the free movement of goods and services.

• Royalties: Rights or taxes that kings collected for the transfer of the use of certain assets (water, mountains, salt mines, hunting, etc.) and for authorizing the exercise of industries or activities by individuals. Later they come to be confused with the rates of our days. This financial meaning of “royalty” should not be confused with the king's prerogative in certain religious matters over ecclesiastical authority.

• Stagnant income: That which comes from an article whose exclusive sale is reserved by the Government.