Fueros y salcontroversias fiscales entre la provincia de Álava y la Corona durante el período borbónico

Abstract

From Philip ll's reign onwards, the taxation policy of the Crown in relation to salt came into conflict with some of the uses, customs and privileges retained by the Basque provinces in this field. Alava, as both consumer and producer, with its Añana saltworks, sustained some controversy during the first Bourbon period. Its authorities opposed the Crown on questions related to salt iln this period, which coincided with a developmental phase in the customs administration of the district of Cantabria. The key date of this reform phase was 1740, when direct administration of revenue by the Crown was impianted. lts objective was twofold: to obtain higher and more regular income and at the same time make the customs system more effective in its aim of pursuing and eliminating fraudulent activity. Alava had to resign itself to the loss of certain privileges related to the consumption of salt, but it never renounced those relating to the price and its exemption to the continuous increases in price imposed by the Crown for diverse reasons. The authorities of Alava cbung to the contrafuero inasmuch as the purpose of the "increase" was usually two questions that Alava assumed through its own financing: military service and road repairs.