Running the Brenner Road: Custom Duties & Tolls (18th C.)

Since ancient times, goods have been transported across the Alps. One of the most important routes led over the Brenner Pass, which provided a year-round connection between the Mediterranean region and Central Europe that could be used by waggons. Transit traffic thus became a very important regional economic factor. Despite its enormous significance, many questions remain unanswered: There is only limited data on the volume of freight and the frequency of traffic. The organization of transportation is only known in its basic features, and we also know very little about the maintenance of roads, bridges and protective structures. The project is based on the hypothesis that keeping the transit traffic through the Alps running on a daily basis depended on several factors: a substantial commitment of human and animal power, the availability of materials and money, as well as good organization and administration. The project therefore pursues three objectives: firstly, to determine the volume of transit traffic; secondly, to study the way in which the route was kept open for traffic; and thirdly, to investigate the impact of extreme weather events. Since the eighteenth century saw important changes in the Habsburg monarchys trade and transport policies, this period is very well suited to the project. The main sources are the annual registers of the Klausen customs station, which have survived as a complete series and are now being analysed for the first time. They record the daily revenues of customs duties and road tolls, as well as the quantities of goods transported and the number of pack and cart horses passing through. This allows us to analyse the volume of freight, its changes over the course of the century, seasonal trends and the influence of the four fairs held in Bolzano each year. The registers also provide information on the cost of maintaining the traffic routes, so that customs revenues can be directly related to the expenses of maintenance work. In addition, the Diocesan Archives of Bressanone also contain files on customs administration, which are being evaluated together with the material on the infrastructure and administration of the Brenner route from other archives in the region. The information obtained from the registers will be made machine-readable using a new method of digital text recognition and processed in a database. The quantitative approach is linked to a practice-oriented approach, which innovatively combines the infrastructural challenges of an alpine landscape with the use of people, animals and means of transport in an activity exposed to all weather conditions. The project thus contributes both to the trade via the Brenner route and to approaches of New Materialism that places built materiality in relation to natural space and natural phenomena, human actors and animals alike.