The royal fifth (Spanish: quinto del rey), (Portuguese: quinto real) is a historical royal tax which reserves to the monarch 20% of all precious metals and other commodities (including slaves) acquired by his subjects as war loot, found as treasure or extracted by mining. The 'royal fifth' was first instituted in medieval Muslim states from interpretations of Qur'an, though the extent to which it applied was debated between schools of Islam. During the Age of Exploration, Christian Iberian kingdoms and their overseas colonial empires also instituted the tax, though to encourage exploration, some monarchs allowed colonists to keep some or all of the fifth.
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Royal fifth in the context of John V of Portugal
Dom John V (Portuguese: João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo; 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), known as the Magnanimous (o Magnânimo) and the Portuguese Sun King (o Rei-Sol Português), was King of Portugal from 9 December 1706 until his death in 1750. His reign saw the rise of Portugal and its monarchy to new levels of prosperity, wealth, and prestige among European courts.
John V's reign saw an enormous influx of gold into the coffers of the royal treasury, supplied largely by the royal fifth (a tax on precious metals) that was received from the Portuguese colonies of Brazil and Maranhão. John spent lavishly on ambitious architectural works, most notably Mafra Palace, and on commissions and additions for his sizable art and literary collections. Owing to his craving for international diplomatic recognition, John also spent large sums on the embassies he sent to the courts of Europe, the most famous being those he sent to Paris in 1715 and Rome in 1716.