2l8
THE MESTA
given point was made the occasion for proceedings similar to
those instituted at Cordova and Saragossa. In July, 1488,
while the sovereigns and their council were at Murcia, the Mesta’s
attorney, Mexia, renewed his campaign against local sheep
tolls. All the older methods and several new ones were brought
into use. The Corregidores, those indispensable instruments of
autocracy, who served as the local representatives of the crown in
all parts of the realm,1 were instructed to see to it that the sheep
owners were not subject to illegal local taxes or fees.2 Further-
more, the Corregidores were to transmit directly to the local
alcaldes or justices the decisions of the Royal Council in these
matters and were to report to the Council regarding the enforce-
ment of that body’s mandates. Before long the Mesta itself,
through its attorney-general, was issuing orders to the corregi-
dores to enforce the observance of contracts and agreements in
the collection of local tolls.3
All of these means — entregadores, special royal inquisitors,
Corregidores — were not enough to satisfy the sheep owners in
their demands for new weapons with which to combat those per-
sistent wayside annoyances, the tax collectors from neighboring
towns, castles, and monasteries. The Mesta turned now to the
remodelled high appellate court, the Chancilleria at Valladolid.
This august tribunal, with its companion court, which was
established at Ciudad Real in 1494 and removed to Granada in
1505, became the apex of the strongly centralized judiciary of
Ferdinand and Isabella. By virtue of various decrees of the then
friendly chancillerias, the Mesta brought further pressure to bear
upon the intimidated local officials.4
1 Mariejol, L’Espagne sous Ferdinand el Isabelle (Paris, 1892), p. 172. Although
this office originated a century before their time, Ferdinand and Isabella were the
first sovereigns to make effective and extensive use of it. In 1480 they scattered
Corregidores throughout Castile to safeguard royal interests.
2 Arch. Mesta, A-5, Aledo, 1488; B-2, Béjar, 1498; A-9, Âvila, 1502, Prov. i,
18 (1498).
3 There were even instances of Corregidores and entregadores sitting together in
judgment over such cases. See above, p. 84.
1 Arch. Mesta, Y-2, Iscar, 1495 : a decree of the Valladolid Chancillerfa authoriz-
ing the appointment by the Mesta of two special agents to investigate and report
upon the local tolls collected along the important canada from Soria to Medina
TAXES UNDER FERDINAND AND ISABELLA
2i9
Occasionally, it is true, the Mesta still resorted to conciliatory
measures and adjusted its taxation difficulties by means of
asientos or concordias.1 These milder devices had already been
employed during the period of the Mesta’s weaker years early in
the fifteenth century? They were used now, however, only when
there was danger of conflict with strong city governments or
with personages of the highest rank, and even then the Mesta
was able to insist that the consent of its staunch protector, the
crown, was necessary to legalize any such agreements.3 This
consent was not a mere perfunctory formula; for it gave the
Mesta a very useful sanction, to which it could appeal for the
enforcement of its contracts. The Valladolid Chancilleria was
instructed to threaten the severest penalty in order to protect the
Mesta and insure compliance with its ConcordiasA From the
point of view of Ferdinand and Isabella, this insistence upon
royal consent was obviously desirable, since it added another
weapon to an already formidable array which was intended for
del Campo. The court subsequently issued mandates, apparently after a purely
formal hearing, commanding the cessation of various taxes.
1 Arch. Mesta. V-4, Villalba, 1495 : a concordia between the Mesta and Alonso
Enriquez, lord of Villalba, corregidor of Badajoz, and ‘captain of the king and
queen.’ Ibid., B-3, Bilbiestre, 1491 : a Irasaccion between this town on behalf of
its lord, the Constable of Castile, and the Mesta. Ibid., C-ιo, Cuellar, 1488: an
asiento or agreement between some Mesta members and the Duke of Albuquer-
que, fixing the tolls to be paid by the sheep owners for passage over the latter’s
estates. In case of dispute, the matter was to be adjusted by two townsmen. This
concession on the part of the Mesta is partly explained by the fact that the asiento
was made by a qιCadrilla, or group of Mesta members, and the Duke. It is one of
the few examples of an important action taken by a part of the membership. The
solidarity of the organization was one of the principaΓcauses of its strength, and
of its utility to the crown.
2 See above, pp. 205-206.
3 Arch. Mesta, C-ι, Ciceres, 1490: an agreement between the tax collector of
that city and the quadrilla or group of Mesta members from Le6n. Similar con-
cordias are found in A-5, Alcova de la Torre, 1491; A-6, Alia, 1498; A-5, Alera,
1498. Arch. Osuna, Infantazgo, caj. 7, leg. r, no. 12: a Chancilleria sentence of
15n, confirming a concordia.
4 Arch. Mesta, A-5, Alera, 1498: a decree of the chancilleria fixing the penalty
of death for the tax collector of Alera if he does not show cause, within fifteen days,
for failure to maintain a bridge for the use of the flocks. Cf. B-2, Biscones, 15∞:
a sentence by an entregador, acting under special royal instruction, condemning
a local toll collector to death and the loss of all his goods, for repeated violation
of the royal edicts protecting the Mesta in these matters.