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VOL12 N2, TD1

Thematic dossier 200 years after the Revolution (1820-2020)

December 2021

THE SUBSÍDIO LITERÁRIO TAX. CONTINUITY OR BREAK?

TELMA DE MATTOS RUAS

telmaruas@grupoceu.pt

She has a Bachelor Degree in History from Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa (UAL), 1987, and a

Master Degree in Cultural History and Politics from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1995. She

attended the doctoral course in Institutional and Business Communication at Universidad

Complutense in Madrid and obtained the Diploma in Advanced Studies in 2002. In November

2007, she attended the course for Leaders in Education School Turnaround Leadership Program,"

Starting Fresh: Establishing Leadership, Building a Vision and Creating the Conditions for Student

Success" at the University of Virginia - Darden Business School & Curry School of Education. She

attended the Interuniversity Doctoral Programme in “History: Change and Continuity in a Global

World” and is currently preparing her Ph.D. thesis, publishing several articles evaluated by

reviewers as part of her PhD. She is pedagogical advisor to the UAL Board of Directors (Portugal),

coordinates the submission processes for new study cycles and supervises the guidelines for the

study cycles in operation.

Abstract

This paper is part of the study carried out on education in the liberal period based on the

minutes of the sessions of the Cortes. The analysis of parliamentary activity - the political

debate and the consequent legislative action – indicates the importance paid to Instruction

and Education matters with the aim of meeting the needs of the Liberal State. Based on the

subsídio literário tax created by the Marquis of Pombal on 10 November 1772, nineteenth-

century society claimed the right to promote primary education, basing its claim on the

fulfilment of tax duties. The continuity of Pombal’s political action embodied the interests and

will of the liberal nation. However, the ideological demand of liberalism demanded its

extinction in the parliamentary debate. The oscillation between continuity or break marked

the political-economic views on the subsídio literário in the 1800s.

Keywords

Education, Instruction, Subsídio Literário, Parliamentary Debate, State Budget

How to cite this article

Ruas, Telma de Mattos (2021). The Subsídio Literário tax. Continuity or break?. Janus.net,

e-journal of international relations. VOL12 N2, TD1 - Thematic dossier 200 years after the

Revolution (1820-2020), December 2021. Consulted [online] in date of the last

visit, https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.DT0121.4

Article received on em September 29, 2021 and accepted for publication on November

2, 2021

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The subsídio literário tax. Continuity or break?

Telma de Mattos Ruas

THE SUBSÍDIO LITERÁRIO TAX. CONTINUITY OR BREAK?

TELMA DE MATTOS RUAS

Introduction

The 1820 revolution unequivocally affirmed the Enlightenment philosophical ideals in

Portuguese society, widely disseminated at the end of the century of enlightenment and

in the first years of the new century. The revolutionary echoes sustained by new values

and renewed institutional powers, placing in the hands of men endowed with individual

rights the duty to reorganize the new moral and political order embodied in freedom and

popular consent, were responsible for social reconstruction. The reformed, modernized

society called on everyone to participate, asking for individual and collective collaboration

for its development and national progress. These contributions implied the acquisition of

school knowledge and skills, thus recognizing the importance of providing them through

formal means.

These skills were acquired through the education and instruction of everyone - children,

youth and adults. This education privileged the paternal right, the private sphere in the

definition of goals for moral education, virtues and talents, determining, depending on

the social strata, the educational qualifications and social skills to be gained.

Simultaneously, the public sphere was given the greatest mission: the education of

citizens – instruction.

Under the jurisdiction of the State, the youth were offered elementary education,

fundamental for the exercise of civic participation, and technical and professional

training, allowing for a more enlightened and civilized society. The State saw political

responsibility as an individual right and as a duty, a function that it shared with the

private sphere – the family - enshrining the different actions in the State's supreme law.

Therefore, the words Education and Instruction, despite identical in meaning, had

different representations and actions in the contemporary period.

It is important to emphasize that the use of the words education and instruction –

synonymous in a dictionary - were not used to reinforce the meaning of the political

discourse, or to identify ideologies. Its use had a leading role in communication, so the

knowledge of its meaning, its linguistic and semantic use proved to be fundamental for

understanding the discourse and political action of the 19th century. This situation was

common to the one that had occurred in the Ancien Régime, revealing, therefore,

continuity in the use, identification and representation of words in communication. We

recognize, however, that after the 1820 revolution, the discourse became more modern,

a reference of revolutionary ideas based on individual rights and freedom. It revealed a

Article translated by Carolina Peralta.

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The subsídio literário tax. Continuity or break?

Telma de Mattos Ruas

communication more attentive to signs of change, proposals for investment in literacy

and in education. The arguments for the development of instruction and education were

supported by political actions that encouraged literacy and showed concern to address

social needs.

Educational Projects in the Ancien Régime

Let us recall the political action to support education and instruction in the Ancien Régime.

The creation of the subsídio literário tax in 1772 by the Marquis of Pombal aimed to

promote public education and proved to be an important milestone for the development

of education. The legal provision regulated the procedures for tax collection,

extinguishing previous financial support to public instruction and instituted a body

responsible for the administration of funds -Junta-, which showed the State’s careful

supervision in the education of youth. It is important to emphasize that the regulation of

the creation of smaller schools, promulgated previously, with the small difference of four

days, supported its political action in the financial taxation

The following year, in 1773, three other regulations, the 15th February licence, the 4th

September Instructions, and the 16th December diploma clarified the importance of the

tax for the development of public education, allowing assessing the school network. Thus,

it must be emphasized that the set of laws placed in the fiscal issue, the financial

distribution of the tax, the essence of the education system reform project. This project

aimed to foster the development of state education and elementary education under the

remit of the State. In view of this, two questions arise: Has the restructuring of the

education system led to a policy to promote elementary learning? Are we facing a

proposal to generalize the elementary education system?

The intention of the Marquis of Pombal was the development of education and civilization

by promoting, at all levels of education, the dissemination of ideas of the enlightenment,

valuing knowledge and technical and scientific preparation. He believed it would

contribute to the modernization of a strong State taking into account its political,

economic and social interests, and the benefits and usefulness of the Kingdom.

This action aimed at political progress, favouring a social elite that proved to be

committed to the economic growth of the centralized state. Therefore, and despite the

significant step towards promoting elementary education, the reform elementary

education project was not able to stimulate the expansion of the school network to make

education popular.

However, the legal provision that created the subsídio literário tax was a fundamental

financial instrument for the promotion of learning.

Pursuing a political action of continuity, the reign of D. Maria I, despite favouring the

Church again by handing over to the Ursulines the responsibility for school education,

invested on free female education, on the establishment of specialized classes in scientific

The Bill of Law of 6 November 1772 established the administrative organization of schools, in order to allow

everyone to learn, and modernized the syllabi. It also defined the rules for teaching practice, the functions

to be exercised, and established the means of “subsistence” to be attributed to “masters and teachers” in

order to ensure and preserve the education system throughout the Kingdom and in the provinces.

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and technical areas - mathematics, foreign languages (French and English), rational and

moral philosophy, commerce and agriculture - particularly in the city of Porto, and also

supported qualified training in the wool sector. These measures proved to be essential

for the encouragement and continued development of education and instruction

. It is

also important to emphasize the legislative distinction granted to the most disadvantaged

and to female education.

Starting with the diplomas of 24 and 31 October 1814, the first provided measures for

the protection and benefits for orphaned and destitute children. The second granted to

three applicants, Margarida de Jesus, Teresa Rosa de Jesus and Maria Procópia,

authorization to continue teaching “in their current homes”, 20 girls per house, promoting

moral and elementary education “reading, writing, counting", to which other skills

deemed essential were added such as "sewing and making dresses". Each teacher

received a monthly payment of 6,000 réis, "paid through the subsídio literário". The

teaching activity was supervised by the Junta da Diretoria Geral dos Estudos (RDHE,

Legislação, 1814: 334) (Board of the General Directorate of Studies).

The Notice of 15 May 1815, in accordance with the previous royal resolution of 31 October

1814, confirmed the decision to create 18 schools for girls in the city of Lisbon to

encourage the learning of elementary knowledge, moral values of “Christian doctrine”

and the learning of crafts like “spinning, knitting, sewing, embroidering and cutting”

(Legislação Régia, 1815: 57).

In view of these political actions, we see continuity in the public proposals for education

and instruction, clearly highlighting three perspectives: cultural concern, social

intervention and the economic-financial approach, all converging towards a single

purpose: development of the education system by promoting the usefulness of school,

scientific and technical knowledge, placing it at the service of the Kingdom. This benefit

was, of course, supported by the subsídio literário”.

Another look at Instruction and Education in the liberal period

Whereas one can perceive another approach in the liberal period at instruction and

education, the aim remained the same: the progress of the Nation. Since 1820,

Portuguese society promoted the education of all citizens to sustaining its development.

The reform of the education system, at the different levels of learning, proved to be

essential, highlighting the main areas of intervention. At the pyramid of school

improvement there was the pressing need to promote elementary education, allowing

children to learn basic knowledge, moral education, and liberal ideals, all necessary for

demanding civic participation. Physical education activities, essential for the healthy

The permit of 31 July 1788 granted privileges and exemptions for a period of ten years to the wool and

dyeing factory in the Village of Covilhã and to the Spinning School in Celorico da Beira, given their “utility”.

The laws of 24 and 31 October 1814 showed concern for the development of education. The former provided

protection measures and benefits to orphaned and destitute children and the second granted Margarida de

Jesus, Teresa Rosa de Jesus and Maria Procópia authorization to continue teaching “in their current homes“

20 girls (in each one) receiving a monthly payment of 6,000 réis, “paid by the subsídio literário” (Digital

Repository of the History of Education, Legislação, Resolução Régia 31-10-1814, p. 334). The Notice of 15

May 1815 determined the establishment of 18 schools for girls in the city of Lisbon with the aim of “teaching

Christian doctrine, reading, writing, counting, spinning, knitting, sewing, embroidering and cutting”

(Legislação Régia, Edital, 15-5-1815 p. 57).

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Telma de Mattos Ruas

physical development of children and young people, were included in the syllabi. At the

same time, the syllabus modernization in secondary and higher education introduced new

scientific and specialized technical areas, thus encouraging socio-cultural enrichment and

the development of professional skills. The parliamentary debate dedicated to the

introduction to the study of political economy and new disciplines in the area of law must

be stressed.

On a second level and to respond to the investment needs in elementary education, the

social concerns focused on the following priorities:

- establishment of basic education institutions, enabling the expansion of the school

network;

- diversification of teaching methodologies, adoption of updated teaching material

suitable for different levels of education and school ages;

- modernization or construction of school spaces for the practice of teaching and

learning, including projects for the foundation and provision of libraries, awakening

a taste for learning and reading;

- checking pedagogical and administrative competences by the management bodies

under the Ministry of the Kingdom - the Junta da Diretoria-Geral dos Estudos,

Conselho Superior de Instrução Pública and the Direção Geral da Instrução Pública

and the ensuing debate on the need for training teacher pedagogy. It proved to be

of great importance for the improvement of the system.

This was followed by administrative organization that called for the involvement of other

entities responsible for political and territorial management, requiring the intervention of

the municipal power regarding the responsibility for regional school administration and

pedagogical supervision. We highlight the admission exams to the teaching career for

teachers, and the procedures for teaching the subjects, which allowed the regularization

of the professional career. There was also pedagogical inspection to ensure good

academic and didactic practices, and finally, the issue that turned out to be the most

important: the payment due to teachers and assistants. Difficulties in timely payment of

active or retired teachers accounted for a very significant number of petitions filed in the

Cortes in the 19th century, becoming a real political and social problem.

The recurrent and persistent representations, individual and collective, focused mainly

on the financial difficulties that teachers and their families were experiencing. The main

reason for the petitions was the delay in the payment of salaries. In addition, the irregular

and controversial management of the collection and distribution of funds resulting from

the subsídio literário tax was denounced, as it was sometimes diverted to meet other

education needs.

Pombal’s action in support of state education was welcomed by the majority of the

Nation’s representatives, even though the mismanagement and use of financial funds

were the object of derogatory parliamentary comments and opinions. Even so, the

creation and maintenance of the subsídio literário made a relevant contribution to

encouraging elementary education. The revenue from this tax made it possible to

respond to evident deficiencies in the education system. In addition, it contributed to a

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The subsídio literário tax. Continuity or break?

Telma de Mattos Ruas

better definition of strategic guidelines with a view to the development of all levels of

education.

These topics were debated and analysed diligently in the sessions of the Cortes, with the

politicians responsible for the Kingdom and Treasury ministries frequently participating

in the discussion. None of the petitions were left unread in the Chamber of

Representatives. After being submitted, they were all carefully forwarded for a second

reading and a more detailed opinion in the different parliamentary commissions or went

to other ministerial services. The preoccupation and political urgency in answering the

pleas demanded it. The speed imposed in responding to all requests overcame another

need: the social care and attention that all requests deserved. Thus, the political action

sought to find adequate responses to the pleas, taking into account the financial

possibilities of the Nation. It was a thorny job, but it was also an intense and stimulating

period of political-social debate.

The petitions sent to the Cortes revealed different perspectives, mixing different feelings

that oscillated between civic participation enthusiasm, enshrined in the Constitution, the

social stimulus in meeting the reform needs, contributing to cultural modernization and

the realization of the economic and financial weaknesses that the Country experienced

The greatest political difficulty was the impossibility to respond to the recurring economic

and financial problems that persistently affected education professionals. The

government's difficulties in solving delays in the payment of salaries owed to teachers,

particularly to elementary education teachers, despite the collection of the subsídio

literário tax being the main source of revenue for the development of elementary state

education, was one of the main political debate issues, alongside the reform of the

education system that was insistently demanded.

It is interesting to recall the constitutional texts promulgated in 1822, 1826 and 1838 and the administrative

reforms that the country adopted throughout the 19th century. The consecration of the individual rights and

duties of the citizens, assuring everyone the right to education, the attribution of specific powers to the

municipal powers, were adjusted to the political moment. Under the banner of the decentralization of

political power, the political centralization exercised by the government restructured the administrative map

and, consequently, its competences. We underline, in a more liberal perspective, article 223 of the

Constitution of 1822 (título VI– Do Governo Administrativo e Economico, capítulo II- Das Câmaras)

entrusted the Councils with the obligation to “Take care of primary schools, and other educational

establishments that may be paid from public income, as well as from hospitals, homes for the abandoned,

and other charitable establishments, with the exceptions and in the form that the laws determine”

(Assembleia da República, Portuguese Constitutions, 1992, 93). The constitutional texts of 1826 and 1838

referred these prerogatives to the regulatory law guaranteeing the right to free primary education (Carta

Constitucional, título VIII “Das Disposições Gerais e Garantias dos Direitos Civis e Políticos dos Cidadãos

Portugueses” - artigo 145º, §30; Constituição de 1838, Título III- “Dos direitos e garantais dos Portugueses,

artigos 28º e 29º). Among the administrative reforms we highlight: the Law of 20 July 1822, published on

1 August of the same year. The decree of 16 May 1832, preceded by an extensive report on the powers of

public administration, justice and the treasury, highlighted the measures of the “organization and

administration of the Treasury”, according to the Napoleonic model. The 1836 Administrative Code

restructured the new map of municipal administration. Changes under the government of António Bernardo

da Costa Cabral – Administrative Code of 1842-. In the second half of the 19th century, the administrative

and territorial reorganizations that were promulgated in 1867, 1870, 1878, 1886 and 1895-1896 revealed

the main concern of the liberal state, the political redefinition of the map of municipal powers, the

suppression of councils, the duration of mandates and competences assigned to the appointed bodies and

members.

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The just claims for the enforcement of the Subsídio Literário

The many petitions that sent to Parliament throughout the 19 century requested the

enforcement of the subsídio literário tax to in public education. The first plea was sent to

parliament on 14 April 821. It was a congratulation letter sent by the Municipality of

Torres Novas to the representatives of the Nation. The message of congratulation for the

revolutionary political success was followed by requests for intervention with a view to

regularizing primary and secondary education in the region. The lack of provision of

primary and secondary education subjects proved to be incomprehensible for the citizens

in view of their regular compliance with their taxes.

The inhabitants of the aforementioned Village cannot be indifferent spectators

of such deficiency, when they recall the considerable taxation imposed on

their wines, and which they pay every year, and whose collection is therefore

destined by the law to support the Teachers, and it is not being enforced in

the Village in proportion to the payment made (DP-MCCGE, session no. 58,

14/04/1821: 578).

The municipality of Torres Novas, determined to implement primary education, sent a

new petition to the Cortes on 24 April of the same year. Despite the order of the Board

of the General Directorate of Studies ratifying the intention of the region, the political

decision fell to the Finance Commission. We believe, however, that the decision satisfied

the interests of the municipality, considering the content of other requests presented that

evoked as an example the success of the Torres Novas district in its requests.

A similar situation was repeated a few years later, in the sessions of 23 and 27 January

1835, with several municipalities in the Province of Minho demanding the use of tax funds

in the development of public education in the region.

We also recall in the same parliamentary year two interventions by deputy José Ferreira

de Castro. The first, made on 14 March, highlighted the legislative compliance that

instituted the Lisbon Lyceum (Decree of 17 November 1836). He then drew attention to

the relevance of the collection of the subsídio literário, essential to the promotion of

public education, suggesting rigorous use of funds to encourage training. In the second,

it required the approval of "some small, and provisional measures" (DP-MCCDN, session

No. 54, 28/03/1835: 696) that would allow the founding of primary schools in rural

parishes and the creation of complementary training subjects in the district main cities–

logic, metaphysics, philosophy and ethics – with the aim of developing the education of

the youth, basing the materialization of the proposals on the good administration of the

subsídio literário.

In 1837, the six requirements relating to primary education called for the timely payment

of teachers and referred to the various procedures for using the subsídio literário in

different locations, underlining arbitrariness in its application. Deputy Baron of Ribeira de

Sabrosa, in the session of 13 March pointed out these random procedures, stating:

In the village of Canelas, homeland of my noble friend, Deputy João de

Lacerda, seven hundred thousand réis are paid as subsídio literário, but there

has never been a teacher of first letters there, nor there is today: on the

contrary, in Beira Baixa, villages that pay no more than 20$000 réis in

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The subsídio literário tax. Continuity or break?

Telma de Mattos Ruas

subsídio literário, have always had teachers of first letters. The worst thing is

that these same few teachers, who exist, are always underpaid. I believe that

Mr. Passos has already ordered some of them to be paid; but it is true that

the teacher of first letters in my own village had not received, not long ago,

a single coin, after the Queen's Government had been re-established (DP-

MCCGE, session no. 43, 13/03/1837: 16).

Similar circumstances were highlighted in 1839 and 1840. The collective requests of

primary teachers in the municipalities of Torres Novas, S. Pedro do Sul, Alcobaça,

Alpedrinha, Évora, Aveiro and Porto Santo demanded payment of their salaries. The

common argument presented for the payment of their salaries was supported by the

income from the subsídio literário, rejecting the administrative changes approved in

1836, which placed greater financial pressure on the municipalities

The representative of the Nation Alberto Carlos Cerqueira de Faria added his voice to the

protests, defending the preservation of the tax and admitting, however, that the amounts

collected proved to be insufficient for the development of education. It was a

controversial opinion. Many other deputies considered the funds sufficient to support

education in the Kingdom, extending its political and administrative action to the

overseas provinces

We underline yet another case of the municipality of Porto Santo Island, which decided

to use the tax revenue in the payment of salaries to teachers, the rental of the school

building and also the purchase of teaching materials. It was undoubtedly a unique

example, revealing a scrupulous administration of tax collection.

In 1842 there was a request for information on income from the subsídio literário tax

relating to the districts of Lisbon, Santarém and Leiria in the last two years. Was it an

unusual request? No. The request was presented by Deputy Bartolomeu dos Mártires

On the territorial and administrative reform and its effects on political and financial structures and

procedures, we highlight the following references: SÁ, Victor de ‒ A reforma administrativa liberal que

precedeu a de Mouzinho da Silveira. Revista da Faculdade de Letras. Nº 2 (1985), p. 202.

We highlight other studies on local and regional administration, such as the work coordinated by Professors

Monteiro, Nuno Gonçalo; Oliveira, César ‒ História dos municípios e do poder local: dos finais da Idade

Média à União Europeia. Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 1996, de Silveira, Luís Espinha da ‒ Território e poder:

nas origens do Estado contemporâneo em Portugal. Cascais: Patrimonia Histórica, 1997, Manique, António

Pedro ‒ Mouzinho da Silveira, liberalismo e administração pública. Lisbon: Livros Horizonte, 1989, and the

article Liberalismo e Finanças Municipais da Extinção das Sisas à Proliferação dos Tributos concelhios,

Penélope, Fazer e Desfazer História, no. 3 June 1989, by Fernandes, Paulo Jorge Azevedo ‒ As faces de

Proteu-elites urbanas e o poder municipal de finais do século XVIII a 1851. Lisbon: Câmara Municipal, 1999,

Catroga, Fernando ‒ Natureza e História na fundamentação do municipalismo da Revolução Liberal ao

Estado Novo (uma síntese). In Silva A, Francisco Ribeiro da... [et.al.], org. ‒ Estudos em homenagem a

Luís António de Oliveira Ramos. Porto: Faculty of Humanities of the University of Porto, 2004 and A república

una e indivisível: no princípio era a província. Revista de História das Ideias. Coimbra. V. 27 (2006), Silva,

Carlos Manique da, Da vontade unificadora do Estado à adaptação da escola às realidades locais: o papel

dos governadores civis e dos comissários de estudos (anos de 1840-1860) Revista da Faculdade de Letras,

História, Porto, III series ére, vol.10, 2009, pp. 151-160, Tomás, Ana; Valério, Nuno ‒ Autarquias locais e

divisões administrativas em Portugal 1836-2013. Lisbon: Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão da

Universidade de Lisboa, 2019 and the article by Langhans, Franz Paul de Almeida ‒ Organização

administrativa e local. In Serrão, Joel, dir. ‒ Dicionário de História Portugal. Porto: Livraria Figueirinhas,

1984. vol. IV.

The legislative provision published on 24 July 1851 by the Ministry of the Navy recognized the financial

importance of taxing the subsídio literário in all the islands of the province of Cape Verde, highlighting its

contribution to the development of education in the overseas province. In this regard, we also point out the

decree of 1 September 1881, which promulgated the maintenance of this tax collection in the State of India.

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The subsídio literário tax. Continuity or break?

Telma de Mattos Ruas

Dias e Sousa at the 24 August session. His intention was to obtain detailed knowledge of

the movements of the Lisbon port, in particular the amount of wine exported

Therefore, economic reasons motivated his request. However, since the value of exports

influenced education matters and also because in 1841 two legal provisions on the

auctioning of the tax in the mainland districts had been approved – 23 October and 2

November - we took into account the documents relating to the State budget foreseen

for the economic year 1839-1840. Thus, in this sense, and for a better interpretation, we

analyzed the following headings: State income and charges and other specific

documents. Based on documents relating to the Ministry of the Kingdom, it was possible

to assess the state of education, having as a starting point the request of the

parliamentarian elected by the Madeira constituency

. We also take the opportunity to

highlight the opinion of deputy Alberto Carlos Cerqueira de Faria, presented earlier,

defending that the income from the subsídio literário was insufficient to meet the needs

of public education.

Let us pay attention to the documents presented in the Cortes relating to public accounts

for the financial year 1839-1840. We start with the report by the finance minister drawing

attention to the State's difficulties, taking into account the debts and burdens of the

ministries. The issue of public debt, a major problem with a complex resolution, was

portrayed in the various maps that were delivered to the Assembly for due analysis. For

Professor Fernando de Sousa's studies on Real Companhia Velha allow us to take a new look at the company

and its commercial relations.In Arquivo Real da Companhia Velha, he reveals the complexity of tax collection

in the north region. The joint article by Fernando de Sousa, Francisco Vieira and Joana Dias - A cobrança

de impostos régios pela Companhia Geral da Agricultura e das Vinhas do Alto Douro (1872-1832) reveals

some data about the relevance of taxes, the amount of tax collection and its effect on the structure of the

State. On the subsídio literário tax, the Company collected in “production and commercialization” around

“315 reis in barrels of red wine (…) 120 reis in barrels of vinho verde, (…) 210 reis in exports to Overseas;

105 reis in wine barrel for Brazil”. These amounts were reduced from 1825 onwards. The amounts of tax

income in the North region in “Porto and councils” by the Company and by private individuals are also listed

below. if in the year under review, 1802, the total amount was 25,710$206.

In the book A real Companhia Velha. Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro (2006), and

in one of the chapters A Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro, Empresa Majestática

(1756-1834) (Fernando de Sousa, Diogo Ferreira, Francisco Vieira and Ricardo Rocha) continue the analysis

of financial data confirming the importance of taxes - subsídio literário and military tax - as being

"responsible for every year for more than 62% of the global amount" (229) pointing out the doubling of

revenues between 1802 and 1814. More detailed information on the collection of direct and indirect taxes

from the 1830s onwards is found in the documents of the state budgets, that can be viewed in the repository

of the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance. http://purl.sgmf.pt/repositorio/orcamentos/index.html

We draw attention to the legislative provisions that requested detailed information about the income from

the subsídio literário tax. The Ordinance of 18 November 1837 requested discrimination on tax collection in

the years 1834, 1835 and 1836 throughout the Kingdom. An identical situation was published on 28 June

1851, demanding the appraisal for the biennium from July 1851 to June of 1853. The laws of 20 May, 29

August, 10 and 16 October and 11 November 1837 requested data on charging in the municipalities of

Guarda, Santarém, Coimbra, Vila Real, Lisbon and Aveiro; the orders of 15 March and 7 June 1838 set out

procedures for collecting the tax throughout the Kingdom. On 12 July of the same year, an income table

was published for the period from 1 July 1838 to 30 June 1842. This was followed by bills enacted in the

same year and referring to the district of Leiria. The ordinance of 12 July 1839 requested the tax remittance

certificates relating to the district of Coimbra. The two ordinances of 22 October and 2 November1841

defined the collection procedures in the Kingdom. There were also requests on 10 December 1844, 12

January, and 18 March 1850, and on 24 December 1852. On 19 February1853, a new condition was added

to the collection process for the district of Aveiro, in compliance with the Regulation and the Law of 15 April

1857, extinguishing the tax on the mainland and replacing it with the property tax, keeping its collection

on the islands. The ordinance also determined that the average income of the last 10 economic years –

1846-1856 – set at 115,904$780 was placed directly in the total revenue from the property tax and was

subsequently distributed among the administrative districts. It further informed that the amount collected

in the year 1857 - 1,328:752$000 was distributed among the 17 districts, according to the administrative

and territorial reorganization – 24 October 1855 - and in compliance with the conditions stipulated on 17

July 1855, putting in practice principles of fiscal equity.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL12 N1, TD1

Thematic dossier – 200 years after the Revolution (1820-2020), December 2021 pp. 55-76

The subsídio literário tax. Continuity or break?

Telma de Mattos Ruas

an estimated deficit of 1,413,896$137, the outstanding debt reached the amount of

2,588,171$219 despite pointing out measures for its attenuation. Thus, after “change

was approved”, it was necessary to carry out a complex financial work.

Regarding the direct income of the “subsídio literário”, its collection was estimated at

120,61$828. The tax increase was contemplated in the report of the responsible for the

Ministry of Finance, so the law determined an increase of 600 reis for each barrel of six

hundred and fifty litres, irrespective of the type of wine, in the taxes charged at the Sete

Casas customs, an estimated income of 200,000$000, which raised the total income by

320,616$828. If we take into account the budget proposal for the primary and secondary

State Education heading, the estimated value was 209,871$254, 55,183$334 less than

in the previous year. However, the estimate on 31 July 1840 calculated the charges to

be around 266,048$561, much higher than presented. It is also interesting and relevant

to observe the following maps: State funds on 30 June 1839, the table of taxes levied in

1837-1838 and in 1838-1839 in all administrative districts and, finally, the demonstration

by districts, so that we can better understand the request of the deputy.

In the first document, we recorded the amounts calculated to be collected on the

mainland -193,743$783- and in the district of Funchal - 10.45$462- relative to the

subsídio literário, in the second document we broke it down into three columns: the

regularization of collection in its entirety in the economic years 1837-1838 and 1838-

1839, the amounts missing in relation to direct taxes, which include the income from the

aforementioned tax and the total amount of the missing collections - own income, direct

and indirect taxes, various income and related to litigation -, referring only to the three

regions indicated in the request of deputy Dias e Sousa. Despite recognizing the political

effort undertaken by the State, the total amounts to be collected on 30 June 1839 were

still very significant.

Table 1 - Treasury Accounting Table on the collection of the subsídio literário tax

Districts

Tax Office

Total amounts collected in

the economic years 1837-38

and 1838-39

Direct taxes

Total amounts to

be collected

Leiria

85,414$318

24,071$081

54,318$216

Lisbon

404,233$435

851,997$928

567,748$926

Santarém

95,293$213

102,139$815

55,518$411

Source: Ministério das Finanças, Secretaria Geral - Repositório, Orçamentos de Estado 1839

With regard to the subsídio literário, we can confirm from the same table that the

regularization of the payment of the tax in the financial year 1837-1838 amounted to

56,492$973 and in the following year to 53,215$178. Can we consider the economic

recovery undertaken by the Government particularly auspicious for education? For the

State, yes. We have no doubts. For the education sector, namely for the teaching staff,

we dot not see it. The immediate interpretation allows us to understand the persevering

political strategy of the executive, in the sense of trying to balance the income and

expenses of the State, seeking to alleviate the economic and financial weaknesses.