Tithe

====Spain and Latin America====
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2012}}
[[File:Casa reina mora.jpg|thumb|Casa de los Diezmos, [[Canillas de Aceituno]], Málaga, Spain]]
{{Main|Diezmo}}
Both the tithe (''diezmo''), a levy of 10 per cent on all agricultural production, and "first fruits" (''primicias''), an additional harvest levy, were collected in Spain throughout the medieval and early modern periods for the support of local [[Catholic]] parishes.

The tithe crossed the Atlantic with the [[Spanish Empire]]; however, the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]] who made up the vast majority of the population in colonial [[Spanish America]] were exempted from paying tithes on native crops such as corn and potatoes that they raised for their own subsistence. After some debate, Indians in colonial Spanish America were forced to pay tithes on their production of European agricultural products, including wheat, silk, cows, pigs, and sheep.

The tithe was abolished in several [[Latin America]]n countries, including Mexico, soon after independence from Spain (which started in 1810). The tithe was abolished in Argentina in 1826, and in Spain itself in 1841.