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The evolution of Portuguese fisheries in the medieval and early modern period a fiscal approach
... In the later medieval period, Christian Kingdoms of the north gradually pushed south and conquered Islamic territory (Kennedy, 1996) and by the mid-13th century, the Kingdom of Portugal lay under Christian rule. The expanding reach of the Kingdom of Portugal saw the creation of new trading routes to Northern Europe, the Americas and Africa, with an emphasis on seafaring activities (Amorim, 2009). ...
... While much previous historical research has focused on the political and religious transitions in Iberian medieval society, research on their impact on individual diets has been limited. Aquatic resources became economically important food items during the late medieval and early modern periods in Portugal, however their relative contribution to diet is poorly understood and often subject to sweeping generalizations (Amorim, 2009). In the light of political and societal turmoil that characterized the medieval period, the extent to which different food sources contributed to the diet of different groups, before and after the Christian conquest, also remain uncertain. ...
... By the early modern period, a decline of the fishing industry was documented for Galicia (L opez-Costas & Müldner, 2018). After the 16th century in Portugal, the Crown became more interested in the expansion of trade routes in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans as opposed to fishing, as supported by a documented increase in 'sailors' as opposed to 'fishermen' (Amorim, 2009 ...
Objectives
During the Middle Ages, Portugal witnessed unprecedented socioeconomic and religious changes under transitioning religious political rule. The implications of changing ruling powers for urban food systems and individual diets in medieval Portugal is poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the dietary impact of the Islamic and Christian conquests.
Materials and Methods
Radiocarbon dating, peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS) and stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N) of animal (n = 59) and human skeletal remains (n = 205) from Muslim and Christian burials were used to characterize the diet of a large historical sample from Portugal. A Bayesian stable isotope mixing model (BSIMM) was used to estimate the contribution of marine protein to human diet.
Results
Early medieval (8–12th century), preconquest urban Muslim populations had mean (±1SD) values of −18.8 ± 0.4 ‰ for δ13C 10.4 ± 1 ‰ for δ15N, indicating a predominantly terrestrial diet, while late medieval (12–14th century) postconquest Muslim and Christian populations showed a greater reliance on marine resources with mean (±1SD) values of −17.9 ± 1.3‰ for δ13C and 11.1 ± 1.1‰ for δ15N. BSIMM estimation supported a significant increase in the contribution of marine resources to human diet.
Discussion
The results provide the first biomolecular evidence for a dietary revolution that is not evidenced in contemporaneous historical accounts. We find that society transitioned from a largely agro-pastoral economy under Islamic rule to one characterized by a new focus on marine resources under later Christian rule. This economic change led to the naissance of the marine economy that went on to characterize the early-modern period in Portugal and its global expansion.
... One can kill a goat, and only a catastrophic event will destroy an entire crop, but the sea or the river is unpredictable, and it can be out of reach for weeks. Moreover, while the land has quite strict divisions and property, the sea, despite the payment of taxes for its use, is explored in a borderless way [49] (p. 111). ...
Mid-19th century maps of Tróia Peninsula (Grândola) indicated the existence of a site named “Fishermen’s huts” on the beach. The site was partially excavated in 2019 and presents the characteristics of a village where around a dozen vernacular architecture shacks accommodated people who lived there between approximately 1860 and 1920. The architecture, material culture, and settlement location reveal the presence of a population with specific social and cultural characteristics related to an amphibious or hybrid lifestyle between the land and the sea. This paper presents this community, considering the relation of the people living there with the surrounding environment (natural and cultural resources) and relations within the community, where it was possible to recognize different genders and identities. These considerations are framed within social, economic, and cultural concepts.
Archaeology has long overlooked the role of emotions in its research, particularly regarding loneliness. This dissertation aims to challenge that bias and demonstrate how identifying and exploring such subjective feelings, in this case, loneliness, can provide invaluable insights into the human experience, helping to understand past societies and their social dynamics. This study intends to promote a debate to cover the gap in the archaeological study of loneliness and to be an important step towards a more holistic approach to archaeology that fully considers the emotional lives of our ancestors. Yet, being loneliness a non-consensual concept with possible different definitions that can change depending on the culture and chronology, discussing it from a theoretical perspective was fundamental before any methodological approach. It is precisely in this space that this dissertation exists, between theory and practice, between science and humanities. Feeling lonely is not about being alone, and being alone does not mean one feels lonely. This makes identifying loneliness in archaeological contexts very challenging since similar evidence might be generated from different emotional behaviours. To make its investigation even harder, loneliness is probably more than an emotion-it is a cluster of emotions: anger, grief, shame, and resentment, among others. How to distinguish, then, the behaviours produced by or originating from lonely people? To achieve this, following the previously mentioned theoretical proposal, three different lines of analysis were explored: One coming from structures that contributed to the negative feeling of loneliness, one coming from lonely or altered landscapes that would most likely contribute to the same negative feeling, and, finally, one coming from the social (or individual) strategies used to fight the loneliness feeling. These lines of analysis will be applied to three different case studies.
This definitive environmental history of medieval fish and fisheries provides a comprehensive examination of European engagement with aquatic systems between c. 500 and 1500 CE. Using textual, zooarchaeological, and natural records, Richard C. Hoffmann's unique study spans marine and freshwater fisheries across western Christendom, discusses effects of human-nature relations and presents a deeper understanding of evolving European aquatic ecosystems. Changing climates, landscapes, and fishing pressures affected local stocks enough to shift values of fish, fishing rights, and dietary expectations. Readers learn what the abbess Waldetrudis in seventh-century Hainault, King Ramiro II (d.1157) of Aragon, and thirteenth-century physician Aldebrandin of Siena shared with English antiquarian William Worcester (d. 1482), and the young Martin Luther growing up in Germany soon thereafter. Sturgeon and herring, carp, cod, and tuna played distinctive roles. Hoffmann highlights how encounters between medieval Europeans and fish had consequences for society and the environment - then and now.
Piscatorial activity was quite important in the Middle Ages. In places located next to the sea or rivers, fishing represented one of the main occupations of the population. In the city of Porto, located in the North of Portugal and bordering the Atlantic Ocean, dedication to maritime activities traces back a long way – chronologically speaking. Although some studies allow us to have an idea regarding its dynamic in medieval times, the final centuries of the Middle Ages lack deeper analyses. This study contributes to fill that gap by considering the 14th and 15th century. As a result, it was possible to determine which piscatorial communities existed in that timeframe in the city and its surroundings, the ways in which the sale of fish was regulated and its main commercial routes.To achieve this, city council’s minutes and documentation from the royal chancellery were analyzed. It was concluded that fishing was of paramount importance in the urban quotidian and that it was heavily regulated and commercialized – both internally and externally.
Keywords: History; Medieval History; Portugal; Porto; Fishing.
A atividade piscatória foi bastante importante na Idade Média. Em localidades situadas junto ao mar ou rios, a pesca representava uma das principais ocupações da sua população. Na cidade do Porto, localizada no norte de Portugal e bordejada pelo Oceano Atlântico, a dedicação às atividades marítimas remonta a cronologias bastante recuadas. A atividade piscatória é disso exemplo. Embora alguns estudos permitam ter uma ideia quanto à sua dinâmica em tempos medievais, os séculos finais da Idade Média carecem de análises mais aprofundadas. Este estudo contribui para essa lacuna, considerando a atividade nos séculos XIV e XV. Como resultado foi possível apurar quais as comunidades piscatórias existentes à época na cidade e seu entorno, como era regulada a venda do peixe e quais as rotas da sua comercialização. Para tanto, analisaram-se predominantemente as atas de vereação concelhias da cidade e documentação proveniente da chancelaria régia. Concluiu-se a elevada importância da pesca no quotidiano urbano, havendo uma forte regulamentação da atividade e um intenso comércio interno e externo.
Resumo: No contexto da Expansão portuguesa no Atlântico, a baleação teve um papel importante apesar de ser mencionada pontualmente na historiografia da especialidade. Tal como outros recursos naturais, a baleia, e seus produtos derivados, esteve sujeita às dinâmicas do monopólio régio e não só beneficiou a Coroa Portuguesa e empresários, como potenciou o domínio territorial no Brasil. Técnicas baleeiras bascas foram transferidas da Europa para o Atlântico Sul no início do século XVII e prevaleceram durante três séculos até se tornarem obsoletas face às inovações tecnológicas de outras potências europeias e à redução dos stocks de baleias. Os impactos desta atividade fizeram sentir-se principalmente no aspeto económico, mas também a nível social, cultural e científico. Palavras-chave: Expansão portuguesa; Baleeira; Transferência de conhecimentos e técnicas. Abstract: Within the context of the Portuguese Expansion in the Atlantic, whaling played an important role although barely mentioned in the expansion historiography. Like other natural resources, whales and their products were exploited under a royal monopoly that not only benefited the Portuguese Crown and entrepreneurs but also strengthened the territorial control in Brazil. Basque whaling techniques were transferred from Europe to the South Atlantic in the beginning of the 17 th century and prevailed during three centuries. Then, that practice became obsolete in the face of other European power's technologic innovation and the reduction of whales' stocks. This activity had a major impact in the economic agenda of the expansion but also on social, cultural and scientific fields.
A pesca tem sido apontada como uma das mais importantes atividades medievais e um dos pilares estruturantes da economia medieval Portuguesa. Os estudos respeitantes à investigação do tema, mormente os direcionados a áreas litorâneas, têm demonstrado a imensa representatividade desse labor. Tanto a montante, na captura do pescado, como a jusante, na preparação e comercialização do peixe, uma significativa parte da população tomava parte na exploração desse recurso natural, tendo na pesca a sua profissão ou especialização laboral. Outra coisa não seria de esperar, se levarmos em conta a compleição geográfica de Portugal, nomeadamente a sua ampla fachada atlântica. Tal situação geográfica contribuiria decididamente na importância desempenhada pela pesca marítima. Estas premissas, ao que acresce a formação do meio lagunar, são marcadamente notórias na região de Aveiro. O estudo que apresentámos configura o estado da arte respeitante à análise da atividade nesse espaço geográfico. Para tal objetivo, compulsámos diversas informações apresentadas em estudos referentes à matéria, confrontando-se as diferentes teses defendidas. Analisamos igualmente as fontes publicadas. Se por um lado, o contacto com as mesmas permitiu a confirmação de muitas das opiniões aventadas, por outro, possibilitou a contribuição no colmatar de algumas carências de informação, ou mesmo, no testar de algumas hipóteses. Palavras-chave: Idade Média, pesca, Aveiro (Portugal).
Abstract: Fishing has been identified as one of the most important activities and structural pillars of medieval Portuguese economy. Studies regarded to the investigation of the theme, particularly those associated to coastal areas, have shown this large representation. Both in capture or in trade, a significant part of the population took part in the exploitation of fish resources. As a result, fishing becomes their specialization labor. No other thing could be expected if we take into account the geographical situation of Portugal, with an ample Atlantic coastline. Such geographical situation, contribute decisively to the importance played by the sea fishing labor. These assumptions, adding the lagoon’s formation, are markedly noticeable in Aveiro region. Our study sets the state of the art, concerning to the analysis of the activity in this geographical area, through the review of other authors opinions and the compilation of documental information from published sources. As a result we have confirmed many of the reviews suggested, but also, tested some hypotheses and filled some gaps. Keywords: Middle Ages, fishing, Aveiro (Portugal).
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