Economy and Society in Baroque Portugal, 1668–1703

372 Pages·1981·33.854 MB·English

by  Carl A. Hanson (auth.)

ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
IN BAROQUE PORTUGAL
Economyand
Society
in Baroque
Portugal,
1668-1703
earl A. Hanson
M
Macmillan
Financial assistance for this book
was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
© University of Minnesota 1981
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1981
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without permission
First published in the USA 1981 by
THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS
First published in the UK 1981 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
London and Basingstoke
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
ISBN 978-1-349-05880-8 ISBN 978-1-349-05878-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-05878-5
To my parents,
Fredrick and Alice
Hanson
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study could not have been completed without the aid and en
couragement of numerous people. Prof. Manoel Cardozo of Catholic
University gave numerous helpful Lggestions during the initial
stages of research. In Lisbon, Father Ant6nio da Silva Rego provided
valuable information on the Portuguese archives and helpful com
mentary on various aspects of the study. Work in the archives was
further facilitated by the knowledgable staff who frequently brought
little-known but useful documentation to my attention. Transcription
of an important pamphlet in the British Library, which appears
herein as appendix 2, was kindly provided by S. George West. Thanks
are also due to Ronald Bishop Smith, and his wife Gina, Douglas
Porch, and John Vincent-Smith, whose friendship made my stay in
Portugal all the more enjoyable. I am very grateful to the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation, which provided the funding for my re
search in Portugal.
My mentor during the years involved in bringing this study to com
pletion, Prof. Robert W Kern, has given me invaluable help and criti
cism. His vital contribution has been complemented by the efforts of
three other scholars, Peter Bakewell, Donald Sullivan, and Alicia V.
Tjarks, whose reading of chapter drafts yielded significant insights
and suggestions. Conversations with Prof. Stuart Schwartz concern
ing his A Governor and His Image In Baroque Brazil furnished addi
tional information and understanding. I am also grateful to Prof.
Dauril AIden, who read the manuscript and offered numerous useful
comments.
The Circulation and Inter-Library Loan Department personnel at
the University of New Mexico's Zimmerman Library are owed a great
deal of thanks for their resourceful pursuit of obscure and often dif
ficult to locate material. The final typescript of the study was skillfully
rendered by Judy Buckley and Mary Wicker. My greatest debt is owed
to my wife Mary Ellen, who has been a constant source of encourage
ment and inspiration.
C.A.H.
CONTENTS
CHAPTERS
I. INTRODUCTION ... 3
11. PRIVILEGE AND PROPERTY ... 10
Pedro the Pacific . . . 12
The Land: Stronghold of the Privileged Estates ... 17
The Nobility ... 21
The Clergy ... 27
111. THE THIRD ESTATE ... 39
The Professional Classes ... 42
The Mercantile Class ... 44
The "Mechanical" Professions ... 50
The Popular Classes ... 55
The Lowest Strata ... 61
The Individual's Place and Social Equilibrium ... 67
IV. THE NEW CHRISTIAN
CHALLENGE TO THE ESTABLISHED ORDER ... 70
New Christians and the Holy Office ... 75
Father Antonio Vieira and Jesuit
Support of the Mercantile Class ... 85
The Climactic Decade, 1671-1681 ... 89
The Triumph of the Established Order ... 103
V. THE MERCANTILIST MIND
IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY PORTUGAL ... 108
Precursors of Colbertism . . . 112
Mercantilism and Internal Development:
The French Example ... 122
Portuguese Advocates of Colbertism ... 126
VI. PUBLIC FINANCE DURING AN ERA OF ECONOMIC
DECLINE ... 141
Raising Taxes and Reforming
Collection Procedures ... 143
Devaluation and Protectionist Legislation:
The First Steps ... 149
Mounting Expenses and
Monetary Reform, 1680-1688 ... 152
VII. ERICEIRA AND THE ECONOMY ... 160
The Portuguese Colbert ... 161
Expansion of Textile Production ... 163
Mining, Metalworking, and Construction ... 176
The Impact of the Manufacturing Pro gram ... 182
VIII. ECONOMIC EXPANSION AND FOODSTUFF SHORT-
AGES ... 185
Portugal and the World Economy ... 185
The Growing Trade in Metropolitan Products ... 188
Food Imports and the Trade Deficit ... 201
The Foodstuff Problem: Neglect and Dependence ... 205
IX. RECESSION AND RECOVERY IN THE COLONIES (Part
1) ... 207
Promoting Prosperity in the Eastern Empire ... 209
The Decline of the Brazilian Sugar Economy ... 215
Royal Efforts to Revitalize the Periphery ... 222
X. RECESSION AND RECOVERY IN THE COLONIES (Part
2) ... 238
The Resurgence of Colonial Prosperity ... 239
Controlling the Periphery ... 248
XI. CONCLUSIONS AND CONSEQUENCES ... 260
Defense and Commerce: The Treaties of 1703 ... 262
The Collapse of Colbertism ... 265
Portugal, England, and the Roots of Modern
Dependency ... 270
APPENDIXES
1. Persons Tried and Sentenced to Autos-da-fe
by the Portuguese Inquisition, 1682-1691 ... 279
2. "Whereas the Portugal Trade is
very advantageous to this Nation" ... 280
3. Vesse1 Arrivals in Oporto, 1657-1698 ... 282
4. Ships of the Carreira da india
Reaching Bahia, 1663-1703 ... 284
5. The Bahian Frota of 1668 ... 285
6. Prices and Estimated Annual Production of the
Best White Bahian Sugar, 1655-1710 ... 287
7. A Note on Currency, Weights, and Measures ... 288
NOTES ... 291
BIBLIOCRAPHY ... 333
INDEX ... 351
FICURES
1. Selected Commodity Prices
in Portugal, 1667-1705 ... 145
2. Some Data on the Number of Foreign Vessels
Arriving at Portuguese P.orts, 1670-1705 ... 189
3. The Rise and Fall in the Value
of Brazilian Sugar Exports, 1610-1690 ... 216
TABLES
1. The Leading Noble Families of Portugal, 1684 ... 22
2. Monasteries and Convents in Portugal, 1628 ... 31
3. Two Computations ofRoyal Revenues in 1681 ... 155
4. Salt Exported from Setubal, 1680-1705 ... 191
5. English Imports of Portuguese Wines and Duties
Imposed on Their Export by
the Oporto Alfandega, 1675-1705 ... 195
6. Trade between England and Portugal, 1697-1715 ... 200
7. Income and Expenditure of Various African
and Eastern Enclaves, 1684-1687 ... 212
8. Rolls of Brazilian Tobacco Shipped to
Portugal, 1680-1704 ... 240
9. Bahian Vessels Carrying Tobacco to Angola and the
Mina Co ast, 1681-1710 ... 242
10. Slaves Delivered to Cartagena de Indias by
the Cacheu Company, 1698-1701 ... 24;3
11. Shipments of Brazilian Gold to Lisbon, 1699-1705 ... 245
12. Brazilian Commodity Exports to Portugal and
Their Estimated Value, circa 1700 ... 248
13. Tobacco Shipments from Bahia to the Mina
Coast, 1698-1704 ... 257
MAPS
1. Portugal in the Late Seventeenth Century ... xiv
2. The Portuguese Empire ... After 209
PLATES
(FoUowing page 146)
1. Lisbon's Terreiro do Pac;:o in the seventeenth century.
2. D. Pedro 11, king of Portugal.
3. A Portuguese noble couple of the seventeenth century.
4. Frei Ant6nio das Chagas.
5. Padre Ant6nio Vieira.
6. Fish vendors in Lisbon's Prac;:a da Ribeira.
7. An auto-da-fe procession wending its way through Lisbon's
Rossio.
8. D. Nuno Alvares Pereira de Melo, first duke of Cadaval.
9. D. Luis de Meneses, third count of Ericeira.
10. Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos (circa 1671), foremost
entrepöt of the Portuguese empire.
11. Manifest of the tobacco cargo borne by the Bahian [rota of
1703.
12. Lisbon harbor (circa 1700).