Taxation and Privateering in the Medieval Mediterranean: The Conformation of Privateering Regulations and its Application on the Island of Mallorca

Abstract

In 1229 the island of Mallorca, then in Muslim hands, was conquered by troops of the Catalan-Aragonese monarch Jaime I. From that very moment a group of investors formed which would combine commercial business with that of privateering-pirates – to the point that privateering became one of the most important resources of the Mallorcan economy. However the Mallorcan privateering phenomenon didn’t acquire an international dimension until the 14th century when it became necessary to adopt a regulation – common to all the territories of the Crown of Aragon – capable of regulating and controlling the activities of the corsairs which frequently resulted in piratic operations. In this work we will analyse that process of shaping the corsair policy and its application in the particular Mediterranean space of Mallorca, and especially the emergence of a tax, the "quint" (the fifth), used by the monarchy to control and exploit the lucrative privateer enterprises.