Territorial Organization and Royal Taxation in Portugal: The Origins, 1100-1350

Abstract

From a synthesis on the evolution of the conquest and construction of the kingdom of Portugal, almost always under the initiative of the crown, as well as from the very early way in which the Portuguese monarchs imposed a very continuing policy of strengthening its powers, an attempt is made to show how the Portuguese nobility group never had a significant territorial or political expression, in comparison with other kingdoms. From then on, it will be through one of the most effective instruments used by the Portuguese monarchs from the beginning of the 13th century to the middle of the 14th century, the "Inquirições Gerais" (General Inquiries), to evaluate assets and control stately abuses, that an attempt will be made to understand how the patrimony of the Portuguese aristocracy was managed.