Porto Santo customs house
Original title: Alfândega do Porto Santo
Describes the fiscal post (rather than a true customs house) on Porto Santo, documented from 1556 to 1768, together with planned fiscal posts in Madeiran ports and the coastal watch-posts (vigias) regulated by King Sebastião.
Porto Santo customs post and coastal watches
As the annotator of ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra) judiciously observes, the island of Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’) had a station or revenue guard post (posto fiscal) rather than a customs house in the proper sense. We do not know the date of its creation, but it already existed in 1556, because the royal decree (alvará régio) of 8 April of that year appointed Gaspar Calaça to the post of almoxarife (royal revenue officer and storekeeper), the most important office of that customs house, with an annual salary of two thousand réis (old Portuguese money of account; 1$000 = 1,000 réis, 1:000$000 = one conto = 1,000,000 réis) in cash, two moios of wheat and two pipas of wine. The last appointment of an almoxarife of which we have record is that of Diogo Luís Drumond, made by the royal decree of 22 July 1768. The office of clerk (escrivão) predates 1556, for in that year Diogo Delgado was appointed to it on the death of his predecessor, Rodrigo Anes. There was also the post of harbour constable (alcaide do mar), created well before 1642. We do not know when the Porto Santo customs house ceased to exist.
Revenue guard posts. Revenue guard posts were ordered to be set up at the landing places of Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol, Madalena do Mar and Calheta for the collection of certain duties, but we do not know whether they were ever actually created or how they operated.
In the ports of this archipelago, says Dr Álvaro de Azevedo, there were also the vigias, that is, stations at once military and fiscal, which kept watch over the sea, the coasts and the beaches in order to raise the alarm against corsairs or any other enemy ships, and to prevent smuggling. The watches were kept by the local people, in small strong houses built on purpose to withstand the sea and prevent surprise attacks. King Sebastian gave them regulations (regimento) in 1567, which are registered in volume V, fol. 105, of the Archive of the Funchal Council, and by a royal decree of 1569 he ordered that no one “should be exempt from this service”.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 05-
A royal charter appointed Gaspar Calaça almoxarife of the Porto Santo customs post.
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King Sebastião issued regulations for the coastal lookout posts (vigias) of the archipelago.
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A royal charter of King Sebastião ruled that no one was exempt from lookout service.
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The office of sea alcaide on Porto Santo already existed well before 1642.
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Diogo Luiz Drumond was appointed almoxarife of Porto Santo, the last known such appointment.
Place
Places mentioned · 07
- Calheta
Port where a fiscal post was ordered.
Calheta is a town, parish and municipality on Madeira's south-west coast and one of the island's oldest settlements. The Elucidário covers its name, early settlers such as Pedro Berenguer, its church and many chapels, including one of a former Franciscan convent, and the 1834 riot.
- Câmara de Lobos
Port where a fiscal post was ordered.
Parish west of Funchal. The Elucidário traces its name to Zarco's discovery voyage and describes its churches, chapels and collegiate chapter, early settlers, fishing community and renowned vineyards. It also records the parish's localities, boundaries, levadas and population.
- Funchal
Its council archive holds the 1567 watch-post regulations.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Madalena do Mar
Ponta do Sol. Port where a fiscal post was ordered.
Madalena do Mar is a parish on the south-west coast of Madeira, in the municipality of Ponta do Sol, founded on the estate of the legendary Henrique Alemão and made an independent parish in 1582. The Elucidário records its chapels, sugar and banana farming, its capitania-mor, damage in the 1876 floods and the 1939 flood of the Ribeira da Madalena, and it was the birthplace of António Policarpo dos Passos Sousa.
- Ponta do Sol
Port where a fiscal post was ordered.
South-coast parish and municipality, settled from about 1440 by Rodrigo Enes 'o Coxo'. Its parish church of Nossa Senhora da Luz holds a triptych. The Elucidário also records its quay of 1848, paid for by the council, and the royal visit of 1858.
- Porto Santo
Island where the fiscal post existed.
An island of the archipelago, settled alongside Madeira and forming one of the three captaincies. It has always constituted a single parish, dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Piedade, whose church was repeatedly sacked. The Elucidário records the Moorish pirate raid of 1617, its own Misericórdia and a rainwater channel built on this drought-prone island.
- Ribeira Brava
Port where a fiscal post was ordered.
Ribeira Brava is one of Madeira's oldest parishes, named after its violent stream, with a town, port and quay. The Elucidário covers its collegiate church and its paintings, its Franciscan convent and chapels, and its São Pedro festival with a boat and sword dance. It also records riots against the metric system and deaths when troops fired on the people during the 1884 election.
People
People mentioned · 06- Álvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo1825–1898
Annotator of the Saudades da Terra, quoted on the coastal watch-posts.
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Named clerk of the Porto Santo customs post in 1556.
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Last known almoxarife of Porto Santo, appointed on 22 July 1768.
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Appointed almoxarife of the Porto Santo customs post by royal charter of 8 April 1556.
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King of Portugal who issued regulations for the watch-posts in 1567 and a charter in 1569.
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Clerk of the Porto Santo customs post whose death before 1556 led to Diogo Delgado's appointment.