A tax on sales or goods that was used in medieval Spain and its colonies.
From Arabic al-qabālah meaning 'transaction' or 'contract', this word entered Spanish during the centuries of Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula and was retained as a fiscal term.
The alcabala became so unpopular in Spanish colonies that it fueled resentment against Spanish rule, making it one of the silent economic drivers behind independence movements in Latin America—taxation through an Arabic-derived word that nobody wanted to pay.
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