Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VI: administration and settlement in Venetian Navarino

Hesperia, Wntr, 2004 by Siriol Davis

The capitoli for each tax specify the duration of the tax-farming contract, dates on which payments were due, the requirement for the tax-farmer to supply the names of people who would guarantee his payment, and the obligation to record all income in a book with an official stamp. In the case of duties, the rates of collection were fixed. (97) For monopolies the contract often mentioned the geographical limits of the contract (for example, within the city walls), the obligation of the monopoly-holder to make adequate provision of the relevant commodity, and the sale prices. (98)

The figures shown in Table 2 can give us an idea of the commodities produced and sold and the relative values of different sectors of the economy. (Several taxes--on the use of mills, sheepfolds, the production of gunpowder, and salt--were auctioned in Nauplion since the contracts covered the whole peninsula.) The taxes shown here indicate the role of pastoralism, stock-raising, the production of wine, and fishing in the local economy. The fishery was the lagoon of Osman Aga (Fig. 2, "Osmanaga"), also exploited by the Ottomans. (99) Some of the taxes on consumption, such as those on playing cards, spirits, and tobacco, were almost certainly aimed at the garrisons of the forts and were Venetian innovations.

In Table 2, the figures represent the sum a tax-farmer was prepared to pay for the right to collect a tax on an annual contract, after taking into consideration his estimated expenses and a margin of profit. It is difficult to say how far they directly reflect trends in production and consumption. Fluctuations in the yearly values could be caused by a variety of factors such as climate, competition for contracts, pressure by the authorities to offer higher figures, and political stability. For example, in Nauplion auction values declined after the peace of 1699, as people feared that the reduction of the military presence in the city would lead to a fall in sales, and they consequently stayed away from the auctions. (100) The only dramatic decline in value evident in Table 2 is that for the pasture tax. The documents examined offer no explanation for such a change. In the province of Romania, fear of highwaymen was cited as a reason for the declining bids for this tax. (101) Given the security problems noted earlier, it is possible that this was also a factor in Navarino.

We have auction figures for tithe contracts for the years 1700-1705. (102) The farming out of the tithe was done by auction every year in the early summer. The initial value of each tithe farm was assessed after the fields were inspected by public officials to estimate the likely harvest. The contract went to the highest bidder and payment was usually arranged in two installments, due in February and May. Payment was normally made partly in kind and partly in cash, at a proportion of about 30% to 70%. The portion in kind had to be delivered to the public warehouse and the expense of this delivery was borne by the villagers. The value at which this portion was assessed in payment of the tithe-farmer's debt was guaranteed in advance by the authorities. They were instructed to keep the value slightly higher than the market price to ensure that the public warehouses were filled before produce went onto the open market. Sometimes an inaccurate estimate of the harvest and market prices meant that the official rate was lower than the market value, in which case the authorities were forced to buy grain on the open market to fill the warehouses and provision the fleet and garrisons. The Peloponnese was a large grain producer, producing in excess of the needs for local consumption. However, the ban on export of wheat to Ottoman territories in effect until 1704 meant that sometimes the market was flooded, and tithe-farmers were unable to sell their produce and therefore unable to pay their debts to the authorities. (103)