Abstract
This thesis aims to relate thirteenth-to sixteenth-century state finances in Portugal to the models of 'tribute state', 'domain state' and 'tax state' and to test the assumption that changes within and between these stages are essentially expenditure-driven and related to warfare. These two problems are tested by means of a pre-post case study that observes Portuguese state finances before (1249-1369) and after (1369-1527) a period of nearly constant warfare that started in 1369. The observation is centred in four aspects: the revenues and the economy, the rules regulating the acquisition of more income (fiscal constitution), the funding of warfare and the autonomy of the state. This requires the combination of both quantitative and textual sources, including previously unpublished data, and the systematisation of hitherto dispersed materials. The thesis argues that the concepts of 'domain state' and 'tax state' adequately describe the fiscal systems of the two phases studied but also that the role of warfare varies according to the fiscal system. While under the 'domain state' strong constitutional and fiscal limitations hindered military confrontation, voluntary expansionist wars were a feature of the 'tax state.' Thus, military activity appears revenue-driven rather than the opposite. Furthermore, the analysis of the expenditure of the 'tax state' shows that two-thirds of the royal revenues were allocated to redistribution.
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