Abstract
The supply of towns and cities was one of the essential functions of municipal councils. It was conceived that its efficient administration ensured the common good and the public tranquility. This article studies the official and surreptitious provision of meat and other indispensable livestock products in the daily life of the inhabitants of Santafé specially during the little explored seventeenth century. Based on various sources, in this research is calculated the magnitude of the demand in this capital of cattle that came from different geographic spaces. Through the analysis of the prices of these commodities are determined the periods of meat shortage experienced in this capital during this century and are explained the factors that caused these crises.