REFLECTIONS ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF 19th CENTURY TOBACCO REVENUE FROM A HISTORICAL AND LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This contribution analyses some of the various possibilities facing the adminis- tration of the Spanish state monopoly of the tobacco industry during the nine- teenth century from a historical-legal perspective. From the perspective of the History of Law, in a Spain that was beginning to progress towards a Constitu- tional State, this article addresses the relationship between the state monopoly on tobacco and the law, the challenge of liberalisation, the question of direct administration versus leasing, and, last but not least, the relationship between the state tobacco monopoly and contraband.