Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
tax collector
A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations on behalf of a government. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns or work for a revenue agency. Tax collec ...
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish family in Vitoria,
Álava
Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...
, today in the autonomous community of the Basque Country,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. In the 15th century, several of them collected taxes for the kings of Castile.
In 1463, Jacob Gaón went to the province of
Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...
and reclaimed a tax called ''pedido'' to the inhabitants of the
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
of Tolosa. They refused, arguing they had an exemption from paying these tributes, according to '' fueros'' and laws passed by the previous kings. Gaón menaced them, and several Tolosans killed him, cut his head off and hung it up on the top of a pillory, as a punishment for having put Tolosa up on the top of his tax collection list. When King Henry IV of Castile knew his collector had been killed, he headed to Tolosa, in order to avenge his death. The king ordered the demolition of the house in which the crime had taken place, but the killers had escaped out of town. The Guipúzcoan local authorities applied to the king, explaining the Tolosans' reasons and begging pardon for them. Eventually, Henry acknowledged that the Tolosans were exempted from this contribution and pardoned them.