The 2nd century BC was a period of rapid and far-reaching changes within the Roman Empire. Rome's intervention in Spain, which is singled out here as a case study, led to an administrative response that included the regular and permanent collection of taxes from the Spanish people. This case study is cited as an example of the taxation system of the Roman Republic in the west, driven by the needs of the military which, according to John Richardson (in the Preface) amounted more to 'gathering booty' than taxation. In this study Ñaco also presents a review of 19th- and 20th-century perspectives on Roman taxation in the west and looks at public finance and provincial taxes in general as well as Latin terminology associated with the subject. Spanish text.