The Cartaz (plural cartazes, in Portuguese) was a naval trade license or pass issued by the

Portuguese empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

in the

Indian ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

during the sixteenth century (circa 1502–1750). Its name derives from the Portuguese term 'cartas', meaning letters. The British '' navicert'' system of 1939–45 shared similarities with it.

Background

The licensing of vessels by the Portuguese was initiated by Prince Henry the Navigator in 1443, with the consent of the king and the Pope, when he decreed a monopoly on navigation in the west African coast, starting a Portuguese '' Mare clausum'' policy in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. Ships began to be licensed by Portugal, which authorized and supported navigation, in exchange for part of the profits (usually 20%, "the fifth"), encouraging investment in exploration travels by Portuguese and foreigners.

The ''cartazes''

The "cartazes" licensing system was created in 1502 to control and enforce the Portuguese trade monopoly over a wide area in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

, taking advantage of local commerce: the ''cartaz'' was issued by the Portuguese at a low cost, granting

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

s protection against pirates and rival states, which then abounded in these seas. However its main purpose was to ensure that merchants paid the tax in Portuguese trading posts, directing them to the feitorias in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, Malacca and

Ormuz The Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Hormoz; fa, هرمز; pt, Ormuz) was located in the eastern side of the Persian Gulf and extended as far as Bahrain in the west at its zenith. The Kingdom was established in 11th century initially as a depe ...

, guaranteeing its monopoly on the spice trade and other products. Officially, no vessel was permitted to sail in the Indian coast without this document, risking losing their cargo, being attacked and even sunk by the Portuguese - mainly Muslim, Hindu and Malay

s. Every year, during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

, Portuguese fleets patrolled the coasts requiring this document. Later, as Portuguese lost influence, the issue of ''cartazes'' become in itself an important source of income for the crown.

Trivia

The ''cartaz'' system eventually introduced a new word, ''kadalaas'' ( കടലാസ്) to the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

language of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

which is still used to denote any kind of paper. "The Infamous Portuguese Cartaz", http://historicalleys.blogspot.sg/2012/05/infamous-portuguese-cartaz.html The same applies to the Thai word ''krà.dàːt'' ( กระดาษ).

References

{{reflist, 2 History of international trade Licenses Economic history of Portugal Portuguese Empire 16th century in Portugal 16th century in Asia Foreign trade of Portugal