Fundo da Câmara Municipal de Loulé
Item
Nota de estado
Finalizado
Country
PT
Name of institution (English)
Loulé City Archive
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
por
Contact information: postal address
Rua Cândido Guerreiro, s/n, 8100-681 Loulé
Contact information: phone number
00351 289400804
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
arquivo.municipal@cm-loule.pt
Reference number
CMLLE
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Municipality of Loulé fonds
Title (official language of the state)
Fundo da Câmara Municipal de Loulé
Language of title
por
Creator / accumulator
Câmara Municipal de Loulé
Date(s)
1375/1981
Language(s)
por
Extent
86 linear metres
Type of material
Textual material
Physical condition
Satisfactory
Scope and content
The Câmara Municipal de Loulé fonds comprises documentation related to the municipality of Loulé from the 14th century onwards. Its early records are rich in information on this southern Portuguese village's social and economic life and its population, including the Jewish minority.
The oldest records in this collection are part of the Atas de Vereações series (CMLLE/B-A/001), including the minutes of discussions and resolutions passed by the municipal assemblies. This collection contains the oldest Atas de Vereações in Portugal, dating back to 1384-85. It is also the second most complete collection of 15th-century Atas de Vereações, only surpassed by the collection of the municipality of Porto. The 14th- and 15th-century books include several documents related to the Jewish community of Loulé, from petitions, exemptions and licences granted to Jews to records associated with their expulsion and general conversion in the late 15th century.
Here are some examples:
On June 2, 1408, the council decided that Levy Gagim, a Jewish tailor, should be exempted from penalties and fines as a reward for the good services he rendered to the municipality (CMLLE/B-A/001/00006). Similar reasons justified the exemption of municipal taxes given to a Jewish blacksmith named Belhamin Cachado on April 2, 1403 (CMLLE/B-A/001/00005). At the end of the 15th century, Loulé's Jewish population increased with the arrival of Spanish Jews after the expulsion in 1492. The Actas' book from 1492-1495 (CMLLE/B-A/001/00010) contains the ordinance sent by King João II to the kingdom's "comarcas" (districts) on October 19, 1492, that promised protection to the Castillian Jews who sought refuge in Portugal. In November of 1492, the Jewish "comuna" (commune) of Loulé requested the corregidor of Algarve to provide a new "judiaria" (Jewish quarter). After evaluating the situation, the corregidor suggested that the street that went from the Judiaria Velha (old Jewish quarter) to a house belonging to a man called João Rodrigues Boto should become the new Jewish quarter. This proposal is recorded in the minute of the assembly of November 26, 1496.
The Atas de Vereação from the 14th to the 16th centuries were transcribed and edited by Luís Miguel Duarte (1999, 2004 and 2014). The 14th-century minutes had already been published previously (Moreno, 1984).
The Livro da Repartição da Fruta, a book recording the producers or middlemen who received advanced payment for fruit to be delivered to the city council, contains Hebrew signatures (CMLLE/F-C/002/00001). The date of this book is uncertain. Some authors, such as Alberto Iria, consider that the book dates from 1412. Other authors questioned this date and suggested 1450 as the year of production (Ferreira, 1993). This 11-folio book mentions ten Jews of Loulé who were fruit producers or middlemen in the fruit business with the city council. The document was published by Alberto Iria (1988) and, more recently, by Luís Miguel Duarte (2018).
The Câmara Municipal de Loulé fonds also comprises other books dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. It is the case of Livros de Receita e Despesa (books of income and expense) since 1381 (CMLLE/E/A/001/Lv001-Lv004) and tax records, such as "sisa" (property transfer tax) (CMLLE/F/A/001/Mç001) and extraordinary taxes (CMLLE/F/A/007/Lv001). These records may contain interesting elements for the knowledge of social minorities in late-medieval Loulé, including the Jewish community.
Digital copies of the aforementioned Actas de Vereação and Livro da Repartição da Fruta are available online in the archive's database.
The oldest records in this collection are part of the Atas de Vereações series (CMLLE/B-A/001), including the minutes of discussions and resolutions passed by the municipal assemblies. This collection contains the oldest Atas de Vereações in Portugal, dating back to 1384-85. It is also the second most complete collection of 15th-century Atas de Vereações, only surpassed by the collection of the municipality of Porto. The 14th- and 15th-century books include several documents related to the Jewish community of Loulé, from petitions, exemptions and licences granted to Jews to records associated with their expulsion and general conversion in the late 15th century.
Here are some examples:
On June 2, 1408, the council decided that Levy Gagim, a Jewish tailor, should be exempted from penalties and fines as a reward for the good services he rendered to the municipality (CMLLE/B-A/001/00006). Similar reasons justified the exemption of municipal taxes given to a Jewish blacksmith named Belhamin Cachado on April 2, 1403 (CMLLE/B-A/001/00005). At the end of the 15th century, Loulé's Jewish population increased with the arrival of Spanish Jews after the expulsion in 1492. The Actas' book from 1492-1495 (CMLLE/B-A/001/00010) contains the ordinance sent by King João II to the kingdom's "comarcas" (districts) on October 19, 1492, that promised protection to the Castillian Jews who sought refuge in Portugal. In November of 1492, the Jewish "comuna" (commune) of Loulé requested the corregidor of Algarve to provide a new "judiaria" (Jewish quarter). After evaluating the situation, the corregidor suggested that the street that went from the Judiaria Velha (old Jewish quarter) to a house belonging to a man called João Rodrigues Boto should become the new Jewish quarter. This proposal is recorded in the minute of the assembly of November 26, 1496.
The Atas de Vereação from the 14th to the 16th centuries were transcribed and edited by Luís Miguel Duarte (1999, 2004 and 2014). The 14th-century minutes had already been published previously (Moreno, 1984).
The Livro da Repartição da Fruta, a book recording the producers or middlemen who received advanced payment for fruit to be delivered to the city council, contains Hebrew signatures (CMLLE/F-C/002/00001). The date of this book is uncertain. Some authors, such as Alberto Iria, consider that the book dates from 1412. Other authors questioned this date and suggested 1450 as the year of production (Ferreira, 1993). This 11-folio book mentions ten Jews of Loulé who were fruit producers or middlemen in the fruit business with the city council. The document was published by Alberto Iria (1988) and, more recently, by Luís Miguel Duarte (2018).
The Câmara Municipal de Loulé fonds also comprises other books dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. It is the case of Livros de Receita e Despesa (books of income and expense) since 1381 (CMLLE/E/A/001/Lv001-Lv004) and tax records, such as "sisa" (property transfer tax) (CMLLE/F/A/001/Mç001) and extraordinary taxes (CMLLE/F/A/007/Lv001). These records may contain interesting elements for the knowledge of social minorities in late-medieval Loulé, including the Jewish community.
Digital copies of the aforementioned Actas de Vereação and Livro da Repartição da Fruta are available online in the archive's database.
Archival history
The Câmara Municipal de Loulé fonds is part of the historical archive of the municipality of Loulé. It comprises documentation produced by the municipality since the 14th century. On November 25, 1984, the Arquivo Histórico Municipal de Loulé (Loulé City Historical Archive) opened on the first floor of Alcaidaria do Castelo. Over the following years, the facilities were adapted to enable the conservation of the documents and provide conditions for making them available to the public. An archive depository and a reading room were created, and other facilities were installed for reader services, exhibitions and meetings. Its collection was inventoried and organised by fonds, sections, subsections, and series.
In the 1990s, the fonds was enriched by incorporating a set of medieval and early modern documents that Alberto Iria (1909-1992) bequeathed to the municipality of Loulé in his will. Iria was a Portuguese historian who dedicated most of his research career to the history of Algarve (the southernmost region of Portugal) in the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Among his collection donated to the Municipality of Loulé, there were 15th-century Atas de Vereações (1468-1470, 1481, 1488-89) and account books dating back to 1375-76.
In 2005, the City Historical Archive was merged with the City General Archive in one structure, the Arquivo Municipal de Loulé (Loulé City Archive). Two years after, the archive was transferred to a new building in the centre of Loulé.
In the 1990s, the fonds was enriched by incorporating a set of medieval and early modern documents that Alberto Iria (1909-1992) bequeathed to the municipality of Loulé in his will. Iria was a Portuguese historian who dedicated most of his research career to the history of Algarve (the southernmost region of Portugal) in the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Among his collection donated to the Municipality of Loulé, there were 15th-century Atas de Vereações (1468-1470, 1481, 1488-89) and account books dating back to 1375-76.
In 2005, the City Historical Archive was merged with the City General Archive in one structure, the Arquivo Municipal de Loulé (Loulé City Archive). Two years after, the archive was transferred to a new building in the centre of Loulé.
Administrative / Biographical history
In 1249, King Afonso III conquered Loulé from the Muslims. Seventeen years later, in 1266, the village received its first Foral (city charter). The history of the "vereação" of Loulé begins at that time. After the conquest, the administrative bodies of the village settled in the citadel of the castle. Loulé suffered a prolonged economic crisis during the first decades of Christian dominion. At the end of the 14th century, the city council's minutes continued to reveal the economic decline and depopulation of Loulé. This situation led King João I to provide special privileges and exemptions to help the village's population, including the Muslim and Jewish minorities.
In the 15th century, in the sequence of Portuguese Overseas Expansion, Loulé began a new economic growth cycle. Commercial activity increased, supported by local products such as wine, olive oil, dried fruit, salt and fish. That prosperity allowed the construction of new structures and facilities in the village and the rebuilding of the wall. After 1492, Loulé's Jewish community increased with the arrival of Jews expelled from Castile. Consequently, a new "judiaria" (Jewish quarter) was formed, which ended up being dismantled a few years after, following the decree of expulsion of Jews and Moors from Portugal in 1496.
Since the 1620s, Loulé, and all of the Algarve, suffered a new phase of economic and social decline. It would last until the 18th century. Then, the village followed Portugal's growth trend during the reign of King João V. This renewed prosperity was reflected in the urban development of Loulé, characterised by new buildings and the restoration and embellishment of the village's churches. Most of these new structures ended up being destroyed or damaged during the Earthquake of 1755. The city council building was seriously damaged, and the municipality had to transfer its activity and meetings to other facilities. However, the village recovered from the disaster. In the 1770s, a new phase of urban development began, only hampered by the political instability caused by the Napoleonic invasions and, afterwards, the Liberal Wars in the 1830s. The decree of the dissolution of the monasteries in 1834 led to the closure of Convento do Espírito Santo in Loulé. Then, the City Council was transferred to the former convent's building, where it remained until the 1880s. In 1884, the municipality acquired a large palace-like house built in the 1840s on the main street of Loulé, which became the headquarters of the City Council in 1885.
In the 15th century, in the sequence of Portuguese Overseas Expansion, Loulé began a new economic growth cycle. Commercial activity increased, supported by local products such as wine, olive oil, dried fruit, salt and fish. That prosperity allowed the construction of new structures and facilities in the village and the rebuilding of the wall. After 1492, Loulé's Jewish community increased with the arrival of Jews expelled from Castile. Consequently, a new "judiaria" (Jewish quarter) was formed, which ended up being dismantled a few years after, following the decree of expulsion of Jews and Moors from Portugal in 1496.
Since the 1620s, Loulé, and all of the Algarve, suffered a new phase of economic and social decline. It would last until the 18th century. Then, the village followed Portugal's growth trend during the reign of King João V. This renewed prosperity was reflected in the urban development of Loulé, characterised by new buildings and the restoration and embellishment of the village's churches. Most of these new structures ended up being destroyed or damaged during the Earthquake of 1755. The city council building was seriously damaged, and the municipality had to transfer its activity and meetings to other facilities. However, the village recovered from the disaster. In the 1770s, a new phase of urban development began, only hampered by the political instability caused by the Napoleonic invasions and, afterwards, the Liberal Wars in the 1830s. The decree of the dissolution of the monasteries in 1834 led to the closure of Convento do Espírito Santo in Loulé. Then, the City Council was transferred to the former convent's building, where it remained until the 1880s. In 1884, the municipality acquired a large palace-like house built in the 1840s on the main street of Loulé, which became the headquarters of the City Council in 1885.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The Câmara Municipal de Loulé fonds is organised in 20 sections, each of them divided into subsections and series. The contents of each series are arranged chronologically.
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2021
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Arquivo Municipal de Loulé | Collections (official language of the state) |