The British factory in Lisbon & its closing stages ensuing upon the treaty of 1810

101 Pages·1940·10.128 MB·English

by  A. R. Walford

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THE BRITISH FACTORY
IN LISBON
ITS CLOSING STAGES ENSUING UPON
THE TREATY OF 1810
COMPILED FROM ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS
BY
A. R. WALFORD
ZION. SECRETARY TO THE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION--
—LLSROY ßT,AVCL7
PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE
INSTITUTO BRITANICO EM PORTUGAL
13, TRAVESSA ANDRÉ VALENTE
LISBON
MCMXL
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated, with every
testimony of esteem, to that long-suf-
fering, hardy, and patriotic body of
men- the British Consuls in Lisbon.
oRERUX COGNITIO VERA E REBUS IPSIS EST,
(Scaliger)
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(cid:9) 194 O (cid:9)
COMPOSTO B IMPRESSO BO
CENTRO TIP. COLONIAL
L. RAFAEL BORDALO PIRHBZ'
RO, 97, 98 B 90 — LISBOA
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FOREWORD
Those who desire to become acquainted more widely
with the past political and commercial background of
Anglo-Portuguese affairs cannot do better than refer to
that admirably comprehensive book «COMMERCIAL RE-
LATIONS OF ENGLAND AND PORTUGAL)) compiled
by V. M. Shillington and A. B. Wallis Chapman (published
in 19o7 by Geo. Routledge & Sons, Ltd.) wherever a
copy can be found, for it appears to be now out of print.
This remarkably erudite compilation of data relating to
events, places, and personages, may well be considered a
classic of its kind being indeed a spacious repository of
discerning commentaries and notations upon all the official
documents examined.
Nor can reference be omitted to the series of published
works by that eminent historian of Anglo-Portuguese
affairs, Professor Edgar Prestage (King's College Chair of
Portuguese) which comprise a wide range of the diplomatic
and cultural relations between the two kingdoms, and to
which readers are referred for much that is instructive and
illuminating.
To write the history of the Lisbon British Factory, or
indeed any portion of it, is largely to recount the history
of the British Consuls in that same place: for it was the
very founding of this Factory which gave rise to the sub-
sequent appointment of an official representative to whom
a Consular Patent was granted by the British government
6(cid:9) 7
after several local attempts by the Factory to utilise its Readers will find in the following pages much that
own members for this position had failed to give satis- relates to the «death-bed scenes)) of this historic Factory
faction: failed, for the reason that few of the local British during its closing days. Though the documentary evidence
merchants and factors had any requisite legal capacity, or available is now fairly plentiful, any additional records
were imbued with those necessary civic precepts (and cha- relating thereto will be warmly welcomed for future publi-
racter) which only the specially trained man, bent to a cation in order to continue the picture of the friendly, and
consular career, can acquire with much labour and more to some extent kindred, affinities of these two countries,
experience. It would, moreover, be quite impossible to Great Britain and Portugal, whose long enduring alliance
separate the history of the Lisbon British Consuls from through times of european unrest is an outstanding feature
that of the Factory seeing that the Consul from beginning in the histories of two distant nations.
to end was always the head and prop of the Factory, the
one and only man who had any authority and control over A. R. W.
its affairs and its members; and, in addition to being the
intermediary between the Factory and the British Envoy,
was also the guide, counsellor, and friend, of the entire
British colony. Even the Consul's official duties through-
out his tenure of office — and successively during the
long life of the Factory — were merged uniformly with Acknowledgments for critical opinion, useful data, and
those of that primarily commercial institution. transcription services are gratefully tendered to:
The short treatise now presented by no means pretends S. George Nest Esqre, O. B. E., The British Institute, Lisbon.
to emulate in any way the «magnum opus)) of the two joint- Miss H. M. Friend, B. A., Asst. Secretary & Librarian
-authors mentioned above, but merely to amplify and ex- of the Historical Associa-
tion, London.
tend that part of it dealing with the affairs of the Lisbon
Factory by presenting additional info,(cid:9) niation either un- Douglas Bucknall Esqre, of Messrs. Henry Bucknall &
Sons, Ltd., Lisbon.
available, or unknown, to them at the time. This relation
of new facts and intimate details of the inner organization H. H. Hipwell Esqre, for proof reading.
and life of the Lisbon Factory and its members represents
the outcome of lengthy investigations of documents in the
British Museum Library and Public Record Office in Lon-
don, and of researches in Lisbon which have succeeded
in bringing to light some of the missing Minute and Account
Books of this same Factory; also, to the facilities afforded
by access to the archives of the Lisbon Branch of the Histo-
rical Association; and to the encouragement and assist-
ance received from its President, Mrs. Jayne, here very
gratefully acknowledged.
CONTENTS'
Chapter (cid:9) Page
I. The British Factory : its origin(cid:9) 13
II. British Consuls in Lisbon ... ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) 23
III. The Contribution Fund ... ...(cid:9) ... ...(cid:9) 33
IV. The Treaty of 165.E — Secret Article(cid:9) 37
V. The Judge Conservator... ... ...(cid:9) çr ~
~i
VI. The Factory & the Earthquake(cid:9) ...(cid:9) 47
VII. The Factory Members ... ... ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) 71
VIII. The Factory ((House)) ... ... ...(cid:9) 77
IX. The Treaty of i8io ... ... ...(cid:9) 85
X. The Treaty of 18io (Contd.)(cid:9) ...(cid:9) 89
XI. Subsequent proceedings of the Factory(cid:9) 97
XII. The Factory's Burial Ground(cid:9) ...(cid:9) z07
XIII. The Factory & its Chapel ... ... ...(cid:9) 115
XIV. The Death Blow ... ... ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) 121
Appendix : Supplementary documents ...(cid:9) 133
Index(cid:9) ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) ...(cid:9) 193
The key-stone of Luso-British amity:
«There shall be a sincere and perpetual Friend-
ship between His Britannic Majesty and His
<<Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal,
«and between their Heirs and Successors; and
«there shall be a constant and universal Peace
«and Harmony between Themselves, their Heirs
(cid:9) fl
«and Successors, Kingdoms, Dominions. Provinces,
«Countries, Subjects, and Vassals, whatsoever
of
Quality or Condition they be, without Exception
Person or Place; and the Stipulations this
-of of
«present Article shall, under the Favour of Al-
mighty God, be permanent and perpetual.
>)
(AR VIOLE I OF THE TREATY OF 1810)
CHAPTER I
The British Factory in Lisbon
Sir Richard Lodge, the historian, at the end of his
lecture on the subject of ((The British Factory in Lisbon))
(delivered in London in 1932 at a Meeting of the Historical
Society) says:
uI do not know when the Factory began : I must
((now confess that I do not know when it came to an
((end)).
Until a few years ago there were few indeed who had
heard of such an institution as a British ((Factory)) in Lis-
bon or considered it as being any more than one of those
old and venturesome commercial undertakings lost for ever
in the limbo of the past.
There was a ((British Factory)); not a Factory as we
understand the word to-day in the sense of a manufactory,
but an Assembly of Merchants and Factors. As a recog-
nized ((Factory)) and important local institution it endured
— as far as records go — for over two centuries; another
hundred years or more may well be added to span the
previous period of its gradual formation and development.
14(cid:9) 15
((eval organisation ? What were the conditions of
Practically the only descriptive information we have
«admission ? Was it open to all merchants who
had about this British Factory is the book by two lady
((traded in Lisbon, or was it in any way an exclusive
Doctors of Economic Science: Violet M. Shillington and ((corporation ? It is clear that it did not include all
Annie Wallis Chapman; a collection of Royal Edicts ((British residents in the city, because twentynine
conferring privileges to British traders, by Abraham Cas- ((male British residents perished in the earthquake of
tres, a former Consul General & Envoy Extraordinary; (=755, and only two of them are recorded as having
((belonged to the Factory. It is clear that it was
and then this lecture given in London in October 1932 by
((recognised and approved by the home Government,
Sir Richard Lodge, LL.D., Litt.D.,
((but did it receive any specific authorisation, or
(was it merely used because it was there ? These are
While all these authoritative persons give us a great ((only samples of the problems which require eluci-
((dation)).
deal of valuable information about the various Treaties
between Gt. Britain and Portugal; the long series of
diplomatic negotiations, interspersed with political, milit- Now, to some of those questions we can give to-day a
ary, and naval occurrences, all of great historical interest, definite answer; to others, a fairly accurate conjecture.
they yet contain little that throws any revealing light upon
the British Factory itself, its origin, its organization, its So far as it has been possible to ascertain, there was
internal working, or its members. never any Act or Decree which definitely authorised that
body of British traders which went by the name of ((The
It is only quite recently, after a lengthy search for British Factory)) to set itself up as such. As Sir Richard
information, that we have been fortunate enough to get Lodge surmises, it was probably of gradual growth. There
upon the track of this mysterious ((Factory)), and, ultimate- was that long series of events he records leading up to a
ly, to secure a very interesting number of records and sequence of Portuguese royal edicts and treaties which
details as to its operations in Lisbon. We have had the conferred remarkable privileges upon British traders in
privilege, too, of handling and examining the Factory's Portugal; privileges mainly deriving from the political, mil-
last Minute Books; and in the British Museum, and Public itary, and naval assistance which Gt. Britain gave to Por-
Record Office in London, have been able to find and exam- tugal dating from early times, and more particularly
ine some of its earlier books, and correspondence. The throughout the 16th, 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries
outcome of this research has enabled us to compile a fairly during Portugal's resistance to foreign aggression and
comprehensive collection of data, and to present a summary invasion.
of its later and final operations.
Seeing that the full history of the ((Factory)), if it could
Sir Richard Lodge, when he gave his address on the be written — for we lack an immense amount of data —
(<British Factory)), admitted that he knew little or nothing would run into many volumes, the scope of this present
about that institution, the ((Factory)), itself. He says: treatise must be limited mainly to the closing features of
the ((Factory's)) activities wherein, none-the-less, we can
((I doubt whether it is possible to ascertain a pre-
still deal with these queries Sir Richard Lodge poses.
cise date of origin, as it was probably a gradual
(growth. Was it a survival or a revival of a medi-
(cid:9)
16 17
On the question of origin we can make a brief review. tween the British Government and Lisbon, thé reference is
British traders in Portugal date from very early days. at all times, from start to finish, confined to this express
They probably partly originated from the visits to Portugal definition of «British Merchants and Factors». And yet
-of the old Crusading expeditions on their way east. We the «Factory» was in existence, fully recognised in Lisbon
know that some of these men remained here, became dom- by the Portuguese authorities, by the British Envoy, with
iciled in the country, entered into business relations, and the British Consul as the head and chief director of it.
were, as settlers, subsequently replenished throughout the
succeeding centuries by new arrivals in a military, com- This continuously repeated and seemingly intended
ercial, or purely adventurous capacity. The extent to designation of the sole authority officially recognised by
which this influx of Britishers had grown by the 17th cent- the British government is found in all its references to this
ury is evidenced by the number being so great as to warrant Lisbon British commercial governing body, locally known
the appointment of a resident British Consul; as also, a as the «British Factory)) or ((Feitoria Inglesa)) , which title
British Chaplain. Our records cite numerous appeals for it seems to have acquired not from any charter or Act of
a duly qualified Consul to be sent out from England, in Parliament, but merely from the nature of its operations
substitution of their own locally appointed Consul acting and hegemonic constitution as representing, in the eyes of
as such, to settle the constant disputes arising not only Portuguese officialdom, its locally acquired status of semi-
between the British traders and the Portuguese authorities -official commercial function, controlled and directed by
but also between these British traders themselves within the British Consul. Doubtless the ((Factory)) as time pro-
the ((Factory)). We have definite evidence that the British ceeded, trade flourished, and its local position became
Factory was in operation in 1666, and from this same consolidated, would have welcomed a more direct British
record it is beyond question that the Factory had been in official recognition, but the government, mindful of past
operation for some considerable time already. Yet if we strife and recriminations, seems from the beginning to have
refer to the Act of Parliament, Geo. i. Cap. XVII of 1721 had no intention of departing from its resolution to grant
there is no official reference to the «Factory», and the only freedom of trade to all and sundry.
direct reference therein to the responsible parties in Lisbon
for the carrying out of the Act is in this form: Not all British merchants were members of the ((Fact-
ory)). It must be remembered that the «Factory» was
((etc., etc., to be carried into effect, by the Consul largely an expanded growth from Cromwellian times, and
((General for the time being appointed for all persons
its atmosphere was now mostly Protestant. There were
((trading from the Kingdoms of Great Britain and
many merchants of size and wealth, Irish, English, and
((Ireland to the Kingdoms & Dominions of Portugal,
((or his deputy Consuls, with the Majority of the Brit- Scots, who were staunchly Roman Catholic and while some
((ish Merchants & Factors there))... of these secured membership there were not few who kept
outside the ((Factory).
It will be noticed that there is no reference to any
specific British Factory: and this in the year 1721! Now we all know the Britisher's peculiar fondness for
setting up institutions, forming himself and colleagues into
Indeed, in all the official communications passing be- either a Guild, a Company, Club, Benefit Society, Re-
2
18(cid:9) 19
ligious foundation, Charitable Association, or other entity. which they could deal with the British Merchants and
We can imagine very easily, therefore, that in the Lisbon Factors collectively. The British Envoys of that period
of those earlier days with its long straggle of streets border- seem to have taken the «Factory» for granted, and there
ing the river front, (for the whole trade of Lisbon developed a-re pccasional references to their appreciation of the good
from its water-borne merchandize), there was the obvious services it rendered. It may be of interest to point out
tendency for the British to dwell closely together, and for that the words «Feitor» and ((Feitoria)) are synonymous in
merchants to foregather daily to get the latest news of home the Portuguese language for «Factor» and «Factory» and
and foreign affairs upon the arrival of sailing vessels from are possibly of older employment than our English terms;
England, Holland or France. Out of this constant group-
the Portuguese word «Feitoria» meaning ((Administration
ing together in a common interest it is not difficult to
of Goods)) and ((A company of foreign merchants)). It may
imagine how readily this body of Merchants and Factors well be, therefore, that the designation «Factory» was
would feel the need for having a common meeting-place merely the translation of the correct term. applied by the
where matters affecting the community could be discussed Portuguese to a corporate body of foreign traders, and this
with some appearance of authority and dignity. The
may perhaps explain why it is we have been unable to trace
setting up of local headquarters by foreign merchants had any reference to the constitution of a «Factory» in Lisbon
long been a convenient practice. The Hanseatic League either in.the Acts of Parliament or. the official correspond-
for the mutual protection of merchants, dating since 124.1, ence from the British Government. So that, in fact, we
had numerous ((Houses)) or depots abroad; as also several must assume that the title of ((British)) or ((English Fact-
other foreign trading companies, including the famous East ory», merely derives from the early name by which it was
India Company, with whom the setting up of so-called known to the Portuguese in Lisbon—the ((FEITORIA
((Factories)) at distant points was a usual feature. It was INGLESA)) .
therefore, very natural for the Lisbon British merchants,
representing so many different firms in Gt. Britain and It was due to the signing of the earlier Treaties that the
Ireland, to constitute themselves into that self-styled body, British Factory in Lisbon —and principally to the Treaties
the ((British Factory)), but just when it actually assumed signed in 164.2 and 1654—that the British Merchants and
that name we do not yet know. It very probably acquired Factors in Lisbon, under the clauses granting freedom of
this particular definition before or, at latest, at the time of trade and freedom of conscience in matters of religion, were
the Cromwellian Treaty of 1654. when the ample privileges able to consolidate their growing commercial supremacy
it conceded for commercial operations, together with a in imported goods in such manner as to warrant the setting
certain measure of civic and religious liberty, led to the up of what we might style a kind of Chamber of Commerce-
wider development of British imports and a great increase -cum-Consulate. It was really more of a Meeting house
in the number of ((Factors)) and their families. The format- at that time where the principal Merchants and Factors
ion of this ((Factory)), strengthened by the appointment of foregathered to discuss matters of trade, politics, and local
a permanent British Consul, came to be recognised as the interests of the British community, and such meetings may
semi-official headquarters of the Lisbon British community, well have first been held in one .or other of the local taverns
readily accepted by the Portuguese authorities who were or eating houses, being later transferred, as they tended .to
doubtless very glad to have some such institution through become more formal and official, to the house of the acting