2θ6
THE MESTA
tive assistance from the crown.1 It was, therefore, compelled to
deal directly with the great noble families, the cities, and the
churches which claimed the privilege of collecting sheep taxes.2
These agreements are interesting because they show the Mesta in
a distinctly new light. The organization was now standing on its
1 There are no records of any attempts of the Mesta to win the support of the
tyrannical favorite, Alvaro de Luna, though the latter had no scruples about ex-
ploiting the pastoral industry. See below, pp. 264-265.
2 In 1418 such a concordia was drawn up between the Mesta and the town of
Madrid by two representatives for each of the parties, who were given full powers
to take binding action. (It may be noted here that, during the sixteenth-century
Hapsburg absolutism, it was necessary for a concordia to have the royal assent in
order to be legal.) The Mesta agreed that its members should pay a money toll of
50 maravedis for every 1000 sheep crossing the jurisdiction of Madrid. The town
was in return to keep the bridges in repair, and it was not to assess trespassing sheep
more than the sum covering the damage actually done by them. The flocks were
to be allowed to rest four days on the commons of the city. In case of disputes the
regidores (magistrates representing the crown in the cities) were to act as umpires.
Under no circumstances were the Mesta’s entregadores to take action in any case
involving these taxes. The agreement was made for ten years. Arch. Mesta, M-r,
Madrid, 1432, contains the original of 1418 and certain revisions of 1432. These
points sum up the essential of most such concordias. Occasionally the entregadores
were allowed to act as representatives of the Mesta in these transactions. Arch.
Mesta, P-6, PuebIa de MontaIbin1 1423: a ccncordia with the Count of Montal-
bân. Arrangements were sometimes made for the enjoyment of certain marketing
privileges by the herdsmen. Ibid., T-2, Toledo, 1376: a concordia with the arch-
bishop of Toledo of 1431. If the landowner happened to be a religious establish-
ment, the stipulations were quite likely to carry some provision for the spiritual
welfare of the Mesta members. Ibid., P-5, Priorato de San Juan de Jerusalem,
1435; P-2, Penalén, 1447: providing for masses and prayers for Mesta members
in exchange for tolls paid on the semiannual migrations. In a large number of in-
stances the concordias were chiefly taken up with specifications as to the mainten-
ance of bridges and drinking troughs, with details as to their size, materials, fre-
quency of inspection, repairs, and the tolls to be paid by the sheep owners. Arch.
Osuna, Manzanares, leg. 3, no. 22: a concordia of 1436 with the Duke of Infantazgo
which governed the relations between the Mesta and perhaps the most important
noble family in Spain in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The same archive,
caj. 3, leg. 5, nos. ɪ S., has the complete series of later concordias down to 1634,
which grew out of that of 1436; cf. Béjar, leg. 351, no. 24 (1423). It is interesting
to note that these concordias of the fifteenth century were introduced as evidence
in the course of a lawsuit in 1849 regarding tolls paid by the Asociaci6n General
de Ganaderos1 the successor of the Mesta1 to the Duke of Manzanares. Other in-
stances of concordias are to be found in Arch. Mesta1 T-ι, Talavera de la Reyna1
1472: agreements of 14491 146z, and 1472 regarding taxes to be paid by Mesta
members to the Hermandad of Talavera for the use of certain pastures. See also
Arch Mesta1 G-ι, Gallegas1 1463.
TAXES DURING THE RISE OF THE MESTA 2O7
own feet. Crown patronage meant nothing, and the sheep owners’
organization had to resort to its abilities to transact business with
the landowners on its own authority. Its entregadores were
capable of handling cases of minor complaints of members against
unjust tolls and taxes, but the organization as a whole was now
beginning to feel quite independent of royal support or patronage,
the equal of the most powerful barons, ecclesiastical establish-
ments, and municipalities in the realm. Therein lay the real con-
tribution of this period of political decadence to the adjustment
of one of the vital factors in the economic life of the kingdom.