THE LOAN IN SEVILLE IN LATE MIDDLE AGES

The population of Seville was obliged to lend money to the Castilian monarchy throughout the 14th and 15th centuries and during the early part of the 16th century. No social group, with the exception of the poor, was exempt from these obligatory loans, which were, however, proportional. The amount to be paid was divided between the various parishes in the city and the towns and villages under the jurisdiction of the city. It was calculated according to the wealth of the people, who contributed according to an established scale on each occasion. For this, specific censuses had to be drawn up, although, on occasion, existing censuses drawn up for other purposes were used. Consequently, the number of people obliged to lend money varied each time and sometimes the difference was quite considerable. As for the repayment of the loans, this was not always possible, at least not within a short period of time. Through the study of the documents kept in the Municipal Archives of Seville, these questions are analysed.