ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Joseps revolt 1788

Synopsis
Fishermen in several parts of Spain had to pay the fish tithe to their lords. Since a royal order in 1751, some villages could stop paying it, while others, like Lloret, a seigneurie of Girona's cathedral, saw this seigneurial exaction reinforced. This triggered three decades of fishermen refusing to pay the tribute, attacking the tithe collectors, and taking legal action in courts. However, the climax of these tense moments occurred in 1788. After several unsuccessful attempts to make the fishermen pay both the owed tithes and the upcoming ones, on the 24th of February 1788, the fishermen from the village were summoned to the house of the subdelegate of the Navy in Lloret. While trying to collect the tribute on orders from the Navy Court, representatives from the town council intervened. However, they were forced to leave the premises. Outside the house, the villagers began shouting and urging the fishermen not to pay. What followed were several hours of high tension, with threats on both sides and episodes of attacks on the Navy's authorities. Although the fishermen were eventually allowed to leave, they returned to request the written records to destroy them. The large crowd attempted to set fire to the subdelegate's house and chased the court's scribe. However, the revolt ended due to the pleading cries of the subdelegate's wife. The conflict concluded with the capture of the eight main instigators a few months later and their subsequent imprisonment and fines.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 1 day. Name in sources: La Revolta dels Joseps. Location: Lloret de Mar Country (current): Spain. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Others, Peasants, Workers. Number of participants: 100-250. Main reasons & motivations: Anti-seigneurial, Fiscal. Leadership: Josep Macià, Josep Coll, Joan Mollera, Josep Garriga, Josep Comas, Josep Feliu, Josep Macià i Fargas, Josep Buadas Boadas. Relevance: low.

Further reading
MAS, Francesca (1988). La revolta dels Joseps: un conflicte dels pescadors de Lloret al segle XVIII. Lloret de Mar: Club Marina Casinet. MATEO, José Antonio (2018). “El “delme del peix” en la Costa Brava. Conflictividad social y fiscalidad en la crisis del Antiguo Régimen”, in J.L. Alegret, A. Garrido (eds.), Per a una història de la pesca dels Països Catalans. Recerca i reflexions historiogràfiques. Càtedra d’Estudis Marítims (UdG – Fundació Promediterrània), Museu de la Pesca, pp. 100-114. THOMPSON, Edward P. (1971). “The moral economy of the English crowd in the Eighteenth Century”, Past & Present, 50: 76-136.
Cite this entry

(2023) "Joseps revolt 1788", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. (accessed on ).