«Los heretés posan cullidós y lo balle és jutge de les lleudes». The lezdas of Barcelona: the mechanics of the taxes on trade in the late middle ages and the early modern era

Abstract

What are known as the Lleuda de Mediona and the Lleuda Reial constituted a series of taxes levied on the trade and passage of all types of merchandise in the city of Barcelona in pre-industrial times. This article interprets the data extracted from a number of account books recording these taxes, which form part of an unpublished collection in the Archives of the Cathedral of Barcelona. In comparison with other European archives, the wide range of this collection offers exceptional possibilities for the study of commerce. In addition, other regulatory and legal sources have been explored. The article focuses on the evolution of tariffs, tax collection, and the conflicts that arose in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It concludes that, although control of these taxes was divided between many holders, they formed a coherent and well-organised system.