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Consideraţii privind diminuarea numărului tezaurelor monetare din Ţara Românească între ultimul sfert de secol XVII şi prima jumătate a secolului XVIII / Considerations regarding the diminution of the number of monetary treasures

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Limba de redactare română
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Excerpt The period between the years 1670 and 1750 in Walachia is characterised from an archaeological point of view by a low number of monetary treasures in comparison with other periods. This fact is to a great extent due to the excessive fiscality practiced by the Romanian State in order to cover the more and more high demands of the Ottoman Empire in money and raw materials. One should mention the crisis the Ottoman Empire faced during that period, especially after the disaster of Vienna (September 1683), the military social and policital repercussions of which were practically incalculable - loss of Hungary and Transilvania, afterwards even of Serbia, Banate and Oltenia - for a brief tine; a rise in prices for the main consumer goods and even of the foodstuffs, inflation and breakdown of the rate of exchange of the Ottoman currencies as against the currencies of the Western and Central - European States. One also should mention the sclerosis condition of the Ottoman Authorities, their incapability to intervene and resolve the difficult situations of the battle fronts, despite some local successes (victory of Zămeşti - 1690, that of Stănileşti - 1711). The revalorization of the Ottoman currencies, the rise in prices for the consumer goods, oversolicitation of the tribute - payer States - in this case Walachia - by a rising of the tribute amount, as well as of the other obligations which the Romanian Voivode had in his character of a Sultan's Vassal (Peshkesh and Mukarer payment) determined a preference for goods comparatively to cash money on the part of the Walachian inhabitants. The exchange in kind has also been practiced during the previous periods but, starting with the Cantacuzino family leadership in Walachia, such way of payment grow more and more. It continued all over the first half of the Eighteenth Century till the Constantin Mavrocordat's Reforms. At the same time one should emphasize the fact theat the Ottoman Dignitaries themselves - the High Viziers and even the Sultan - did prefere the Peshkes in kind. Presents amounting to hundreds and thousands of Thalers were made - as precious furs, thorough-bred horses, hunting hawks, Venetian Ducats (best quoted at the exchange rate - a kind of a Dollar of the Middle Ages), etc. Although the number of monetary treasures are low during this period as against other periods, the issued documents attest a lot of currencies. There also are currencies of this period discovered in graves, serving as "air customs payement" by the departed. The exchange in kind is not only attested in the Sale-Purchase documents concluded between the ordinary people or in the narrative of thechroniclers and foreign travellers. The State Treasury itself used to have such practices. The main document wherefrom such practices are obvious is the Treasury Income and Expenditure Register as from the year 7202 to the year 7212 (1694-1704). In this fiscal document - one of the most important documents regardind the monetary market, prices, products, manner of working of the State Institutions - is attested all over the period covered by the documents, the monthly impost (named, in other documents, as contry petty impost) especially established in order to acquire goods. The monthlu impost disappears from the document beginning with April, 1703, but the good acquiring still persists. Thus, amounts od money were assigned out of the four sorts (Vel Sort, Tribute, 2-nd Sort and 3-rd Sort). At the same time, such practices are also obvious from other documents, for example Anatefterul, the Terasury Order Register - containing the ordinances of the Voievoda and of the Country High Administrative Head regarding the way of payment of the tax by the tax-payers. So. as in the Treasury Register, the monthly impost is mentioned. More than this, for some tax-payers or some districts (those of Oltenia, for example) the tax payment in kind system was practiced - especially as regards the taxes on animals (horses, sheep, cows and oxen). Out of this it results that the tax-payers had rather considerable fortune if they were able to pay the tax on animals in kind (it is known that for 40 animals they were charged with 1 animal). Very precise information as regards the animal quantum of the peasants' farms is given by the foreign travellers passing by Walachia, but especially by the notes of the Habsburg authorities of Oltenia (during the period in which this Province was under their authority: 1718-1793), written down following the census carried out in that Province). It is interesting to observe that on the time of arresting the Prince Brâncoveanu, the ottomans were expecting to find in the State Treasury important amounts of money, being known the fortune of that person, named by the Turks Altân Bey (Gold Prince). They only found in the Treasury 4050 Thalers and in the Voievodal Chamber 12,000 Hunarian Gold Coins - that is symbolical amounts for a Treasury. On the other hand, they found a lot of very precious objects - precious furs, adornment, jewels, very precious garments, etc. - briefly, objects of permanent value. Three secretaires for a period of three weeks were necessary in order to made the inventory of such goods. The exchange in kind beginns to vanish once the reforms of Constantin Mavrocordat as from the second half of the Eighteenth Century were made. The sources mention now a better agricultural production which implicitely determined a deduction in price for some consumer goods. And also towards the end of the first half of the Eighteenth Century, Oltenia - one of the most reach Romanian Provinces - came back to Wallachia.
Paginaţia 47-70
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Titlul volumului de apariție
  • Muzeul Naţional; XII; anul 2000