Los mareantes pontevedreses y la pesca de altura en el siglo XVI

Abstract

During most of the 16th century, the town of Pontevedra was recorder as the most dynamic urban centre of the Galician kingdom for its economy based on fishing and sea trade. In contrast with the traditional view which has always regarded the seamen from Rias Baixas as coastal fishermen, Pontevedra's historical legal documents from the Sisteenth Century provide evidence of their presence in Newfoundland and the Canary Island fishing grounds. In the light of this evidence, those seamen appear as faithful continuers of a tradition of seafaring relationships with foreign countries dating back to the late Middle Ages.