The Financing of Spanish Colonial Commerce in America: The Almojarifazgo and the Port of Veracruz

The Hacienda Real during the colony taxed the commerce with several tariffs, the most important being the avería and the almojarifazgo. The latter would do so directly on traded goods. The information it gives is a rich source for interpreting colonial and intercontinental trade. The study focuses on the documentation of tax by the Real Caja de Veracruz at the New-Hispanic port of Veracruz, which served as the re-shipper of the goods negotiated in Mexico. It gives us information about incoming and outgoing ships, their destinations or origins, and the amount paid for almojarifazgo, without distinctions. The total value negotiated in the port between 1587 and 1650 has been calculated as a percentage charged on the value of the merchandise. In spite of fraud and contraband during this whole period, these calculations can be considered a source of reliable, if approximate, information of the new Spanish trade. It establishes the supremacy of imports over exports and intercontinental trade with Spain over colonial trade.