HARVESTING IN HOLY WATERS: AN OVERVIEW OF FISHERY IN PORTUGAL IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES AND EARLY MODERN TIMES

Traditional and consolidated Portuguese historiography has seen fishery throughout the Middle Ages, moving towards to Early Modern times, as an economic activity firstly (and mainly) connected to the State's efforts of supplying local markets, as well as to the dynamization of its own economy, within a process of financial and fiscal strengthening of the Portuguese Crown. Bottom line, this development is deeply linked to Portugal's economic history fostering process, which started fifty years ago. In this sense, this essay proposes a historiographic reflection, an overview of what has been done so far. Moreover, we want to observe how it has been historiographically framed by Portuguese historians and international scholars, and highlight most recent tendencies in terms of new approaches and research initiatives.