The Cartaz (plural cartazes, in Portuguese) was a naval trade

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

or pass issued by the

Portuguese empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

during the sixteenth century (circa 1502–1750). Its name derives from the Portuguese term ''cartas'', meaning letters. The British ''

navicert The navicert, short for navigation certificate, also known as a "Letter of Assurance", was a form of commercial passport issued to allow ships to pass through blockades without inspection. This was of particular relevance during the British naval b ...

'' system of 1939–45 shared similarities with it.

Background

The licensing of vessels by the Portuguese was initiated by Prince

Henry the Navigator Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...

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 ''Mare clausum'' (legal Latin meaning "closed sea") is a term used in international law to mention a sea, ocean or other navigable body of water under the jurisdiction of a state that is closed or not accessible to other states. ''Mare clausum ...

'' policy in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. 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

, 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 bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

and

Ormuz The Kingdom of Ormus (also known as Hormoz or Hormuz; ; ) 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 the 11th century initially as a dependency of ...

, guaranteeing its monopoly on the

spice trade The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in t ...

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 Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

, 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 ...

language of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

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