Customs houses

The rapid commercial and agricultural growth that Madeira enjoyed soon after its discovery quickly led to the establishment of customs houses or revenue posts in several settlements of the archipelago, whose importance and traffic made their creation a necessity.

Around the middle of the second quarter of the 15th century the first customs duties or levies began to be collected in Funchal, although the customs house itself was not created until the beginning of the last quarter of that century. Collection was entrusted to an almoxarife (royal revenue officer and storekeeper), who gathered the taxes of the Royal Treasury (Fazenda Real). He had four assistants, then known as king’s men (homens del-rei), each of whom received an annual salary of 20,000 réis (old Portuguese money of account; 1$000 = 1,000 réis, 1:000$000 = one conto = 1,000,000 réis).

The instrument that established the Funchal customs house is dated 15 March 1477, which makes it the oldest public department of the whole archipelago. It was Dona Beatriz, mother of Dom Manuel, Duke of Beja and Grand Master of the Order of Christ, to which this island belonged, who, as her son’s guardian and in view of the remarkable growth of what was then the town (vila) of Funchal, decided to create the customs house. We do not know the terms on which it was created, as regards the scope of its fiscal powers, its staff and operation, or its import and export revenues. We do know that, to carry out the royal letter (carta régia) of 15 March 1477, the Infanta Dona Beatriz sent her accountant Luís de Atouguia to this island with the necessary powers and instructions to rent suitable premises, appoint the essential staff and organise the various services needed for the customs house to function properly. We also know that the almoxarife and the four king’s men were incorporated into its staff.

We have little information on this revenue office in the early days after its creation. We know only that in 1481, four years after it began to operate, the inhabitants of Funchal were exempted from paying the duty levied on certain goods.

The most important office was that of judge, and the first to hold it was Francisco Álvares, appointed in 1494. In a year we cannot determine precisely, this office became that of superintendent of the royal treasury (provedor da fazenda) for the whole archipelago, or was held jointly with it, and it was one of the most important posts then existing on this island. The high court judge (desembargador) Dr João Leitão (see that entry), the first governor-general sent to this archipelago by the Philippine government, took up the office of superintendent of the royal treasury when he left that post in 1582, under the royal decree (alvará régio) of 5 January 1582. In 1597 Philip II combined the office of superintendent with that of corregedor (royal district magistrate), and the bachelor (bacharel, university graduate) André Lobo was then appointed to it. By 1650 the two offices were once again being held separately.

By royal decree of 6 April 1775, Joseph I abolished the office of superintendent of the royal treasury and replaced it with the Royal Treasury Board (Junta da Real Fazenda). At the same time the post of customs judge (juiz da alfândega, head of the customs house) was established, and Domingo Afonso Barroso, who had previously served as superintendent, was appointed to it.

We give below the complete list of the judges of our customs house, from Francisco Álvares, mentioned above, to Domingo Afonso Barroso, just named, with the dates of their respective appointments. They are: Francisco Álvares (1494), João Rodrigues Parada (1498), João Leite (1508), Cristóvão Esmeraldo (1550), Pedro Fernandes (1555), Lourenço Correia (1559), Diogo Luís (1560), Leoniz Simões (1563), Luís Preto (1567), Pedro de Castilho (1577), António de Carvalho (1579), João Leitão (1582), Domingos Vaz (1585), António de Melo (1590), Bernardo Fernandes Tinoco (1596), André Lobo (1597), Baltazar Fróis (1599), Manuel Araújo de Carvalho (1606), António Gomes Rodovalho (1615), António Antunes Leite (1618), Luís da Cunha (1621), Manuel Dias de Andrade (1628), Manuel Rodrigues Pereira (1634), João Rodrigues de Teive (1638), Manuel Vieira Cardoso (1639), Marcos Correia de Mesquita (1643), Francisco de Andrade (1647), Ambrósio Vieira de Andrade (1683), Manuel Mexias Galvão (1700), Francisco Torres Pinheiro (1703), Luís de França Pimentel (1707), João de Aguiar (1710), José de Sequeira (1715), José Rebelo de Vadre (1727), Jorge Vieira de Andrade (1731), Manuel Teixeira de Castro (1745), Domingos Afonso Barroso (1757–1768).

We know of other offices, but not the dates on which they were created. By 1752 there was already the post of doorkeeper, then an office of some importance, to which that of bookkeeper was attached. The latter was separated from it in 1741 and has formed a separate post ever since. The post of clerk of the Mesa Grande (escrivão da Mesa Grande, the main customs table) already existed in 1526, and that of first factor (feitor) in 1592. There were also the posts of clerk of the marks, sealer, harbour master of the Ribeira and captain of the frigate, second clerk of the Mesa Grande, ship’s mooring man, collector of the sugar fifth (quintador do açúcar) and others besides. From the end of the 15th century it had eight guards, whose number was raised to 12 in 1763.

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We hold it beyond doubt,’ says the illustrious annotator of ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra), ‘that tax farming was the first system of fiscal collection adopted in these islands, and consequently overseas. We are persuaded of this not only by the above-mentioned letter of 15 March 1477, which twice refers to tax farmers – once in relation to the court (juízo) hearing their cases, and once so that they should not oppress the inhabitants – but also by the explicit references to contracts of this kind found in the first book of the council sessions (vereações) of the Council of Funchal (1471 and 1472): for the sugar duties, whose contractors at the time were the Genoese Micer Leão, Martim Annes, Álvaro Esteves and Fernão Nunes; for the tithe on timber, farmed by João Garcia; for wheat, which Martim Luís held by agreement; for the revenue from green produce; and others.

This system of tax farming continued, albeit with some variations, even after the reform carried out by Manuel I at the beginning of the 16th century. The Funchal customs house (Alfândega do Funchal) became the main centre for collecting the dues of the Royal Treasury (Real Fazenda): other taxes and contributions were collected there that had until then been gathered by various official bodies and that were not strictly customs duties in the sense in which we understand them today, as can be seen in the charter (foral) granted by Manuel I to the city of Funchal and the towns of Ponta do Sol (‘point of the sun’) and Calheta (‘small cove’) on 6 August 1515.

We do not know how long this system of farming out the duties collected at the customs house lasted, but we believe it continued for a long time, although within that period collection was on several occasions carried out directly by the customs officials or by the collectors of the royal revenues. Thus we have seen somewhere that in 1772 Inácio Pedro Quintela ‘won the bid for the customs revenues for a term of six years, for forty contos de réis (conto: one million réis), and the same happened on other occasions.

The royal decree (alvará régio) of 15 January 1512 considerably increased the business of the Funchal customs house and markedly curtailed that of the other customs houses, for it expressly prohibited the export of sugar – then the most important and valuable product of the whole island – except through the customs house of this city. The reason for this prohibition is clearly stated in the said royal letter (carta régia): ‘...we suffer much loss, and our dues are stolen and concealed because goods are cleared in many remote places and by many officials, and it is not right that we should lose by it...’

Only a lengthy study – for which we have no time to spare, and for which the essential material is also lacking – could give a detailed picture of the vicissitudes our customs house has undergone in its internal workings, the manner of collecting its revenues, the way these were levied on goods, etc., above all in the period before the introduction of constitutional government, when legislation was not uniform throughout the country. Nevertheless, we transcribe the following interesting passage, which we found in the manuscript of Father António Gomes Neto, which Dr Álvaro de Azevedo cites from time to time in his notes to ‘Longing for the Homeland’:

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The superintendent of the royal treasury (provedor da fazenda), Manuel Mexias Galvão, by his public notice (edital) of 18 July 1700, in consequence of the royal orders and other provisions recorded in Book 9, fol. 392, ordered that the loading and unloading of any goods should take place beside the redoubt (reduto) of the Customs House, on pain (pena) of forfeiting all goods landed at any other locality (sítio). That no person of whatever quality, estate or condition might go aboard ships with goods without the superintendent’s licence, on pain of having the boat burnt and paying a fine of six thousand réis, in gaol (cadeia), to the Royal Treasury, besides the penalty of penal exile (degredo) imposed by the law of 12 August 1722, and the forfeiture of half their property, Book 15, fol. 61 v., and the ordinances of the Kingdom (reino, i.e. mainland Portugal), Book 5, fol. 714, one third going to the harbour constable (alcaide do mar) or the informer. That the same precautions should be observed with respect to the launches of foreign ships once they had made their entry at the health office, in accordance also with the letter of the Council of Funchal of 12 February 1742, Book 8, fol. 103, the respective consuls being charged with warning those they represented, so that they could not plead ignorance and the guards could carry out their duties. It also forbids boatmen to carry cargo or goods to or from ships other than in the capstan (cabrestante) boats or in those appointed by the master of the pebble beach (calhau), and forbids them to go to or come from ships after nightfall. The customs factors are responsible for taking every care and vigilance in placing the guards in the manner laid down in the charter, and the said guards may not leave the ships until these have been unloaded and inspected for departure, on pain, if not found aboard, of being arrested and held until His Majesty’s royal grant (mercê). Guards on the establishment are to be punished with 15 days in gaol and dismissed for ever; those not on the establishment, and both alike if not found aboard, shall pay from their property for the damage to the Royal Treasury resulting from any embezzlement, Book 9, fol. 392’.

On various occasions the Senate (senado, the municipal council) of Funchal, claiming supposed privileges, sought to interfere in matters that fell exclusively within the competence (special judicial commission, alçada) of the superintendent and the other customs officials. In 1742 it was compelled by royal order to acknowledge ‘the incompetence of its authority to go or send aboard without the superintendent’s licence, and to return to the customs house the provisions it had ordered to be taken from on board’.

The governors-general and captains-general of the archipelago also at times attempted to intervene officially in customs matters, and various royal provisions were issued, chiefly by John IV, forbidding the higher authorities of this island to meddle in affairs of this kind. Immediately after the constitutional system was established here, several government measures were taken concerning our customs house. The decree of 23 June 1834 established the Funchal customs house on the same terms as those of the mainland; the law of 20 February 1835 introduced notable changes in its working and staff; and the decree of 14 June 1836 fixed the number and salaries of its employees.

Up to the end of the first half of the 19th century, the government and legislative measures published concerning our customs house included the ministerial order (portaria) of 13 January 1837, the decree of 14 May 1837, the ministerial order of 8 May 1837, the three decrees of 30 June 1837, the ministerial order of 30 June 1837, the ministerial order of 25 August 1837, the ministerial order of 12 January 1838, the ministerial order of 14 May 1838, the ministerial order of 4 November 1838, the ministerial order of 2 July 1839, the laws of 2, 16 and 21 August 1839, the decrees of 4 and 24 May 1842, the decree of 27 May 1843, the ministerial orders of 25 and 26 September 1843 and the ministerial order of 29 November 1849.

The royal letter (carta régia) of 15 March 1477 that created the Funchal customs house directed that a suitable house be rented for the purpose. It is not known precisely, however, where this fiscal house was first established. It has been claimed, and the illustrious annotator of ‘Longing for the Homeland’ echoed the claim, that the Funchal customs house was first installed in Rua do Esmeraldo, in the building known as the granary of the pool, or in its immediate vicinity. It is also stated elsewhere, as information drawn from local tradition, that the customs house was set up somewhere in the area of Santa Maria Maior (‘St Mary Major’). This is not at all surprising, and it is even very likely that this was so. The first nucleus of population settled mainly to the east of the stream later called Ribeira de João Gomes, and it was there that the young settlement of Funchal grew most. This was despite the fact that the discoverer and first donatary had made his residence on the heights of Santa Catarina (‘St Catherine’), which certainly would not yet have borne that name.

It also appears that the customs house operated in a house in Rua Direita (‘straight street’), which was one of the most important streets of old Funchal. A book of the cathedral chapter of our Cathedral, Funchal Cathedral (Sé), records a deed of sale, dated 18 May 1557, of ‘the houses of master Gabriel, which now belong to Duarte Rodrigues, held in quit-rent from the Fabric of the Sé, situated in Rua Direita, which run down to the sea and were the old customs house’.

It is even possible that the customs department was housed successively in the places mentioned, although the chronological order in which these moves may have taken place is unknown. ‘The customs house’, says Dr Rodrigues de Azevedo, ‘which Manuel I ordered to be built is the one that still exists in Funchal today; there are good reasons to prove it. The site that Gaspar Frutuoso, in ‘Longing for the Homeland’, gives for the Manueline building is the same as that of the present building; the interior arcades and doorways still bear the indelible architectural stamp of the period; and at the top of one of these doorways is the following inscription:

These words clearly show that the original building was much older than the year 1620. And, finally, as can be seen from volume VI, fol. 60, of the Archive of the Funchal Council, John IV ordered in the year 1644 that a redoubt be built there, to serve as a platform in view of the distance between the one fortress and the other, and that a gate be opened for the loading and unloading of goods; and this redoubt and gate were built, and they stand beside the present customs house, authenticated by the following inscription, which can be read engraved above the outer gate that opens onto Rua dos Mercadores:

There is, therefore, no doubt whatever that the old building and the existing one are the same.’

The building, which could be called grand for the time and place in which it was built, has undergone various alterations and adaptations to meet the ever-growing needs of the customs establishment. It nevertheless keeps the characteristic stamp of the original Manueline construction, above all in some interior doorways and in the purity of its pointed-arch lines. Its principal floor was the part of the original building that underwent the most thorough alterations. The Order of the Treasury Council of 30 July 1733 called for major works there, and the upper part of the building facing Rua da Alfândega and the inner courtyard, with its adjoining staircase, dates from this time. In 1590 Gaspar Frutuoso said of this building: ‘the customs house, more prosperous and with better offices than that of the city of Lisbon, well walled in dressed stone (cantaria), and closed off from the land and from the sea, which lies beside it and often beats against it when there is a swell’.

The great earthquake that struck this island (see Earthquakes) on 1 April 1748 caused considerable damage to the customs buildings, which a contemporary account of the event describes as follows: ‘Although its walls are very strong, thirty-two cracks can be seen in them, one from top to bottom and others running across; some corners have come apart, wall plates have shifted from their places and everything else is in need of prompt repair...’

The principal floor of this building once served as the residence of the superintendents, and not long ago some public departments were still housed there. The civil government building and its offices remained and functioned there for a long time, until they were moved in 1890 to a house in Rua de João Gago.

In front of the customs building and very close to it, a small fort was built in 1644, in accordance with the plan drawn up for the maritime defence of the city. The wall that still stands there today is the only remaining trace of the old fort, or Reducto da Alfândega (Customs Redoubt), as it was then called.

The redoubt had a gate opening onto the customs courtyard, and the royal decree (alvará régio) of 11 August 1644 laid down that through it ‘all goods should enter, those landed at any other place being deemed forfeit’.

Beside the building there was, and still is, a small chapel, now put to uses other than those for which it was built. It was dedicated to St Anthony and was built around 1714 by the superintendent and judge of the customs house, Dr João de Aguiar. Above the portico of this chapel can be read the Latin inscription Ad salem sol, which has given rise to various translations and has been interpreted in different ways.

It is impossible for us to give here a complete account of the revenue of the Funchal customs house and of the other customs houses of the archipelago over successive periods from their creation to the present day, and we must confine ourselves to brief, scattered notes relating to periods very far apart from one another. Thus a ‘point [statement] taken of the revenue of the customs houses of the two captaincies of this island and of Porto Santo from the year 1581 to 1587’, cited by Dr Rodrigues de Azevedo, shows that over that seven-year period the combined revenue of the customs houses was, respectively, 28,925,275, 26,619,769, 26,013,590, 29,592,155, 28,277,791, 31,206,013 and 16,368,257 réis (old Portuguese money of account; 1$000 = 1,000 réis, 1:000$000 = one conto = 1,000,000 réis). A narrative contemporary with the earthquake of 1748 states that the customs house ‘… yields, one year with another, 27 contos de réis in export duties and 11 contos in import duties, because foodstuffs are exempt by virtue of a monopoly lease (contracto) concluded between His Majesty and the People of this Island’.

The revenue of our customs house was 228 and 230 contos in 1812 and 1813 respectively. In the financial years from 1828–1829 to 1839–1840 it yielded, in réis:

Financial year	Revenue (réis)
1828–1829	77,467,858
1829–1830	66,865,766
1830–1831	66,241,030
1831–1832	56,639,460
1832–1833	79,738,762
1833–1834	90,582,559
1834–1835	100,735,461
1835–1836	99,230,221
1836–1837	115,332,633
1837–1838	108,713,738
1838–1839	142,639,666
1839–1840	129,492,469

The revenue of the Funchal customs house in recent years is as follows:

Year	Revenue (réis to 1915; escudos from 1916)
1896	420,359,099
1897	411,344,857
1898	400,149,011
1899	549,426,805
1900	534,308,446
1901	526,516,570
1902	610,862,178
1903	685,445,558
1904	582,228,286
1905	578,730,497
1906	626,783,370
1907	642,703,253
1908	593,877,672
1909	658,474,874
1910	604,385,995
1911	585,100,920
1912	756,521,640
1913	714,702,260
1914	573,690,020
1915	350,550,410
1916	412,793.41
1917	293,598.03
1918	200,426.94
1919	495,494.68
1920	1,027,379.30
1921	1,429,848.01
1922	1,601,734.02
1923	2,384,045.24
1924	4,339,361.25
1925	3,537,050.48
1926	3,599,009.48
1927	14,799,466.73
1928	18,135,548.54
1929	22,686,218.19
1930	25,010,804.67
1931	20,845,121.68
1932	21,252,161.84

It should be said here that the revenue collected since the currency began to lose value is hard to compare with that of the days of sound money, because the customs houses have adopted different devaluation coefficients, sometimes more than one in a single year. Nevertheless, the revenue of 21,252,161.84 escudos (Portuguese currency from 1911, = 1,000 réis) for the calendar year 1932 (devaluation coefficient 24.45) corresponds to 869,209.97 gold escudos (escudos ouro: escudos at their pre-war value; 1 gold escudo = 24.45 escudos of 1932), a revenue never reached before the Great War.

The customs revenue given above does not include the municipal taxes collected together with the State’s customs duties. Below we give a statement of the taxes collected over the last fifteen years at our customs house and intended solely for distribution among the eleven Municipal Councils of the district.

Year	Municipal taxes collected (escudos)
1918	54,449.34
1919	124,477.31
1920	277,449.42
1921	321,661.18
1922	355,506.66
1923	612,350.09
1924	1,143,737.46
1925	802,411.47
1926	953,537.31
1927	1,452,772.43
1928	1,693,854.65
1929	1,430,633.32
1930	1,547,178.88
1931	1,183,014.84
1932	1,202,916.16

A volume has been published every year under the title Ordens da Direcção da Alfândega do Funchal, containing the various service orders issued by the director of that customs establishment, together with other data and information of great importance for the orderly running of the house. Many volumes have already appeared, the first covering the year 1907.

In 1824 António Marcelino Gomes, unloading clerk (escrivão da descarga) of the customs house, wrote a Projecto de Regulamento da alfândega da ilha da Madeira, which he presented to John VI but which was never published.