The Centre and the Periphery in the Administration of the Royal Exchequer of Estado da India, 1517-1640

Abstract

This article focuses upon the ‘fiscal constitution’ and the financial organization of the Portuguese Estado da Índia, which is examined from both a structural and dynamic perspective over the period from 1517 to 1640. It seeks to provide an overview of the two levels of government, local and central. At the local level, the financial administration depended heavily on local administrators or treasurers, the feitores, who were responsible for tax collection and for disbursements, as well as for the commercial representation expected from a feitoria (factory). At the central level, the financial administration located in Goa was structured around four distinct functions, entrusted to magistrates or specific bodies, theoretically in charge of managing the fiscal surpluses channeled from the local treasuries. The article addresses the constraints placed upon the relationship between the local treasuries and the colonial government and the challenges faced by central institutions to monitor the periphery and thus to control the tax revenue of the Estado da Índia.