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Politics of the Hinterland Taxing Fowl in and beyond the Ports of Terceira Island, 1550-1600
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Politics of the Hinterland Taxing Fowl in and beyond the Ports of Terceira Island, 1550-1600

Gabriel De Avilez Rocha
Early American studies, v 15(4), pp 740-768
01 Sep 2017

Abstract

Arts & Humanities History
In standard treatments of the political economy of port cities, ports are seen to play key roles as centers of mediation between hinterlands and the maritime sphere. This article lends nuance to this framework through a case study of Terceira Island in the Azores and the ways in which merchants, city officials, and Catholic confraternity members in the latter sixteenth century attempted to regulate the harvesting and commerce of birds across the rural districts and urban marketplaces of the island. By seeking to implement complex tax arrangements through lengthy negotiations, provisional accords, and outright conflict, individuals claiming the right to oversee the procurement and trade of wild and domesticated fowl engaged in a palpable politics of the hinterland. I argue that struggles over the types of birds that could be found, exchanged, and consumed throughout Terceira responded to the social, political, and ecological dynamism of the hinterlands in ways that were not always connected to developments in the ports but were sometimes nevertheless enmeshed in broader Atlantic transformations.

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