Casa da Índia

The Casa da Índia (, India House ' ) was the institution that made ​​all the connections of the Kingdom with overseas during the heyday of Portugal in the 16th century to the. She was both the central authority for managing all overseas territories as well as a central trade hub and clearing house for all areas of the Portuguese overseas trade. As an economic organization, it worked here as a trading post or a commercial establishment. She lay next to the Royal Palace at the ribeira said central area of ​​Lisbon on the banks of the Tagus River.

The forerunner of the Casa da Índia emerged in the wake of the Portuguese expeditions along the African coast and the associated trade opportunities. Already in 1434 the Casa de Ceuta was founded in Lisbon. However, it was not very successful, as the Muslims laid by the Portuguese conquest of Ceuta in 1415 associated with the city trade routes and flows of goods in other places. About 1445 followed in Lagos in the Algarve, the foundations of the Casa de Arguim or de Guiné, both, also known as Companhia de Lagos, served to develop the Portuguese trade in West Africa. After the death of Henry the Navigator, both houses were moved to Lisbon in the sixties of the 15th century and later in the Casa da Guiné e da Mina merged, since the Portuguese with Elmina since 1482 attached to the West African coast on a thriving military and trading base possessed.

With the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama and the subsequent commercial development of India and the establishment of a system of maritime trade bases in Asia were around 1503 all activities in the Casa da Guiné, da Mina e da Índia centralized, with the names of the Casa vary in the sources. Later, often just called Casa da Índia, they became the most important economic institution in Portugal. Also, the Spanish monarchs in the creation of their Casa de Contratación 1503 in Seville oriented to the decades-long experience of the Portuguese in the construction of an overseas trade and administrative network. 1504 all trading activities in Africa, and especially the new trade routes to Asia were subjected to state control by the Portuguese Royal House, the Vedor da Fazenda (top royal financial manager ) subordinate to and merged into the Casa da Índia. All goods had to be handed over to the Casa, were reviewed by this, sold at an agreed price and duty paid and paid the income to the respective owners.

The Casa da Índia served as a customs authority of Auditors and Accounting for the money and goods of each overseas branch offices and as an archive, she worked as a warehouse management, personnel authority of the sailors, soldiers and merchants, but also as one of the world's first postal services. The Casa da Índia put the prices fixed, realized and checked purchases, sales and payments, they equipped the fleets, took care of the necessary military escort, the incoming and outgoing vessels made ​​from and presented the various certificates, permits and licenses from. Through the Casa da Índia, the royal officials were appointed and monitored overseas, but also the royal decrees, regulations and laws in overseas widespread.

Between 1506 and 1570, the Casa da Índia had to enforce particularly the official royal monopoly on all imports and sales of spices, silk and shellac as well as for the export of gold, silver, copper and coral. Especially the royal monopoly on copper brought great gains as copper in India and West Africa was sold like hot cakes. Alone 1495-1521 bought the Portuguese crown in the then center of international trade, in Antwerp, about 5,200 t usually supplied by the Fuggers from Hungary copper, which was shipped mostly to India. The monopoly trade remained profitable until 1570 and strengthened the equity and the borrowing capacity of the Portuguese State. At the same time it is important to emphasize that this monopoly trade was always accompanied by a largely free trade with other products such as textiles, weapons, paper and paper products or salted fish ( bacalhau among others ). The share of the crown 's total trade with Asia was in 1506 about 25 % and increased in the course of the monopoly to 50% and more but supplanted the private merchants never completely out of this business. Royal monopolies were also repeatedly leased by the Casa da Índia to private merchants for a certain time. This monopoly provisions were also made ​​for the question the mother country overseas trade between Goa, the capital of the Estado da Índia from 1510, and a variety of commercial offices in Asia and Africa. In this context, the Casa da Índia was responsible also police forces in the fight against smuggling and piracy. After 1570, the monopolies are canceled except for the purchase of spices and trading of copper and silver.

The first known Rules and Customs of the Casa da Índia come from the 1495 and 3 July 1509 were confirmed and extended by royal decree on August 2, 1537. 1519 the Casa was responsible for supervising and taxation of trade in African slaves and 1592-1594 Índia was in the Casa da founded a special department ( consulado ), which dealt with the protection of ports and the fight against pirates. In 1600, during the Iberian Union with Spain, a three Castilians Commission to monitor the Casa da Índia was used by the King of Spain, which led to large resistors in Portugal.

With the decline of the Portuguese trading empire and the decline of the political power and the importance of the Casa da Índia went back gradually. With the development of constitutional monarchy and the emergence of new state structures in Portugal during the first half of the 19th century, the various areas of Casa Índia then went there on in the new ministries and agencies.

On September 17, 1833, the Casa da Índia was dissolved by decree and assigned its remaining fiscal functions of the customs authority of Lisbon, Alfândega Grande de Lisboa.