“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

particularly in commercial litigation. One important aspect for litigants like Blanes seeking
to embargo goods within a given forum was that vecinos were exempt from having to offer a
bond in order to initiate legal actions. This enabled potential litigants to confiscate goods
merely with the order of friendly local officials. In the process, they gained substantial
bargaining power with merchants like Vidiella who potentially saw their perishable goods
wasting away on foreign docks as they waited for legal disputes to be resolved.
On occasion, this could trigger disputes over whether plaintiffs in fact were vecinos
and properly immune from the financing requirement. One sharp exchange over this issue
occurred in Manuel Tavarez’s efforts to recover some 800 head of cattle under a contract
with Alejandro da Roza. Facing an embargo of his property, da Roza objected to the court
that Tavarez, a Brazilian citizen, had erroneously filed his petitions as a “hacendado and vecino”
in order to avoid posting the requisite financing. Da Roza argued that Tavarez, “lacking
property or connections [in Salto]” should have to provide a bond to cover the costs of the
litigation, as well as any economic losses. 106 Tavarez strenuously objected, declaring da
Roza’s actions to be “illegal.” 107 The court never ruled on the matter, ultimately leaving
Tavarez free to pursue his actions without posting a bond.
Deeply rooted in local ties, knowledge and social standing, vecindad continued
throughout the mid-19 th century to constitute an important element in establishing legal
claims in local courtrooms in the borderlands. In this sense, it provided a legal framework
that balanced intensely localized forms of justice and deepening cross-border commercial
connections. One’s status as a vecino served as a consistent reference point in a number of
fora throughout the borderlands. Traders and landowners like Guarch and Picant, but also
106 D. Manuel Policarpo Tavarez cobrando 800 reses a D. Alejandro Antonio Roza, AGN-SJ.
Salto. Letrados Civiles, no. 37 (1852), 13-14.
107 Ibid.
116