From Growth to Collapse: Portugal, Brazil, and the Breakdown of the Old Colonial System (1760-1830)

The breakdown of the Portuguese-Brazilian empire has been a topic of controversy for a long time. The dispute has converged on matters of fact as much as on matters of interpretation. Historians on both shores of the Atlantic have failed to present a common perspective on basic issues, such as the nature and scope of the growth that preceded the collapse, or the timing, duration, and intensity of the crisis itself. Thus a variety of explanations have been offered for this major turning point, as scholars tried to analyze the consequences of the collapse of the old colonial system.However, beyond the controversy, the crucial significance of this period for the now diverging history of the two countries must be universally admitted. For Brazil, of course, this was the time of the birth of the nation, when crucial choices were made and many possible lines of historical development were discarded. Similarly, for Portugal this turn of events was very important. It meant that for the first time in nearly four hundred years the country had to sustain itself without an empire. The remaining colonies, that is, the trading posts and fortresses in Africa and in Asia, had virtually no economic or financial relevance. For almost a century the empire, or what remained, played a minor role in the Portuguese economy and, wishful expectations to the contrary notwithstanding, could not compensate for the loss of the vast American colony. As a result, Portuguese society had to undergo fundamental socioeconomic adjustments to accommodate this historical development.The climacteric nature of this historical process is unquestionably related to the contentious character of the interpretations it has elicited. Bearing this in mind, this essay presents the facts and reviews the main topics of this historiographical controversy. As an active participant in the controversial debates on this topic, I will refrain from restating my former arguments, although this certainly is an excellent opportunity to make them accessible to an English-speaking audience. My aim is to offer a fresher analysis of the available evidence, with the assistance of the most recent research, and thus extend our knowledge of this critical period in the history of Portugal, Brazil, and the Atlantic world.For the Portuguese empire, the beginning of the second half of eighteenth century spelled disaster. In 1755 a tremendous earthquake and the ensuing fire destroyed the best part of the city of Lisbon as well as the cargo of the fleet from Brazil, which was stored in the customs warehouses. The damages were huge and they had scarcely begun to be assimilated when a second blow caused another shock. Gold remittances from Brazil, which had been for some decades the most important financial resource in the empire and had become the major driving force behind its integration into the Atlantic economy, began faltering. The decline, which could already be felt in 1760, became very serious after 1766.1 This problem led to significant financial strains in the mother country and caused an inadequate supply of hard currency that was required to settle international payments, a difficult task for a country with a chronic trade deficit. Consequently, the government of the marquis of Pombal hastened the economic reforms it had already initiated in the previous decade.The government aimed first at the reorganization of both the colonial trade and the main export sector in the metropolitan economy. It specially regulated the sugar and tobacco trade (1756) and created three monopolistic companies, two of which were granted exclusive rights over shipping and trade with specific regions of Brazil while the third was entrusted with the control over the marketing of Port wine. Pombal tried to secure a tighter control over long-distance trade (although the fleet system to Brazil was abolished), which he wished to see concentrated in the hands of a smaller mercantile elite (presumably more adept at competing with the foreign merchants). The main purpose of this program was to cutback the large deficits of the balance of trade. To this effect, he later encouraged import-substitution, and devised an ambitious plan to promote manufacturing production, which was mainly implemented during the of Pombal has been as the of the Portuguese The he with the in remittances from Brazil of from a for Portuguese foreign trade. of the and they in Portugal, the an or at best the for foreign of on Lisbon for a of in the trading they the role they had played for The that shipping in the of the two main of Portugal after 1755 and In it from in in to in and in it from to in the from and in they were to of the former with much to in Lisbon and this of and they were which without much for the of this of the and the of a the Portuguese-Brazilian economy could not to its former The of with and the more of foreign trade was at the of the of the that the of the Portuguese economy was well in when the of the economic reforms and of them not was to and from the In the significant of the trade the part played the of more and was certainly more the of were almost in the the turn of the was the of the of American which the for the Atlantic economy, as had the for the for which was the most important for the colonial economy, a very In for and trading as much as the for sugar in Brazil had for a long time. In the of in and was not it had been some years and as much as of were at the time. In the were The in the huge for in the the of and the from of in the for this long the was some and from a The crisis in the sector in the the over the for marketing had now In the of in the Atlantic sugar trade had from to the was a as the of sugar from Portugal and and an is in of and after that the of the sugar trade of the in the international of the from that of the sugar in the as it the with the of the of in created very trading for and from Portugal more in and, from an in international in This opportunity a of the in the colony. In for the of from in to in the an important in the of sugar and the of now became a significant of was not the in this for The development of was more the entrusted with the of trade in the regions of and its in the In of from Portugal to no more the the growth was as in and the in the In a of In of the was from to the of sugar and to The the countries this In the of the eighteenth as much as of from and the two most important the Portuguese made of the of from Brazil in The a part in were tobacco and The of the for and and the of production, in the of international the in Brazil, as has the economic in the of this development must be to the growth of the itself. has the and of that The of its to the export and be in the first the to supply a large of Brazil as a which was the of the colonial The Portuguese economy to a large on this system and on the trade it made of from the empire from Brazil, from and a in the integration of Portugal into the Atlantic and of foreign the of to played a part in the economic of and at the of in such a that from for of foreign as in the in they could not with the growth of the for colonial and its to was another in which the to of were two to the Portuguese trade. the of colonial in Lisbon and to a in such as and from countries to In of the to the of of Portuguese of to the empire. and already had an important in the and from and the the of the sector made initiated although the from its former role as an and financial to to the empire were specially encouraged and the of which was to the of the colonial manufacturing to the As a result, in some were the was much more to the development of the Portugal the of the of the mother country and the growth was not to and the as to important such as and of the growth was unquestionably important to the were and a of the in In the of long played a as they both the basic from and the main to of the was to the This was an which concentrated in some large and the and manufacturing was a it was the and both and In a to Brazil at the turn of the century were the to the of some to for to of the to the and which and of production, of the For the colonial was not and of large of of both the and to be and as well as such as and were to two of made and of the trading of growth of the export of is of the most of the development of the Portuguese economy in the eighteenth and It became of the more of the foreign at a and thus to its in the to and in the colonial this growth could not large of foreign to the In the trade with Brazil, of became more important from when and from and to Brazil into the the part of to this was a significant of the Portuguese-Brazilian trade in the eighteenth century is The controversy on the and the nature of this In the from Brazil at a very a of in the of from in to more in and a of to a in when they to the to Brazil to an of in and and to to in important the system of trade The Portuguese balance of trade to or deficits in the with Brazil, which were more the of over in the with the foreign no of a although in this period some and most of the in some scope of the of the which a large itself. The of which the offered very for the development of the Portuguese colonial trade. part in the in Portugal to in the of very both in although for the government was to a to to have the Portugal to of the crisis that colonial the of as much as they the growth of the Portuguese-Brazilian economy, in the of which had this growth to be Portuguese system of trade on a very Thus the nature of the it be it the of or in the and the they for it in more Portuguese have not this at and although they this not a on the In Brazil, on the this was the of a more controversy, to a of the or to it to a was to no more a at for a from of the in the Atlantic economy, which was the of the in the the growth of long-distance trade the in shipping and the of as an has the of an as a and he had the not the have an economic growth both in Portugal and as of the of be To be the from the of the colonial period be from both of be and the a historical The growth of the system well be the of the the of the Portuguese-Brazilian in that growth was the and it is to what it have been in the of the events in the the which is in the as much as it was on for fundamental economic The and of in both Brazil and In Brazil, as the of sugar in while became a major for long-distance and the both for the and the export In Portugal, the of the economy on the colonial became The manufacturing with the of as and the of more concentrated of to and to the colonial which a much of the manufacturing became the for a of which the regions the with a more To be this development not the Portuguese economy to the of in the to which it many serious were significant and the growth must not be the turn of the foreign trade was in Portugal in or and to of the Portuguese were in part to be the breakdown of the colonial which in the of a The which had the trade in the Portuguese empire, now the of the colonial in The of the empire had already in the of the in when Portugal, without it not been for the which was in and the of have been the became more the system to as the Portuguese-Brazilian empire was Portugal could not and and could not to the system a and the of at some the to with and the foreign As the Portuguese were two the government to it was The the country in the the the for Brazil, to of the The consequences of this on the Portugal and The to the of was of the first to be the government on in This was as a the government the in it an to the old colonial the first the and the of the Portuguese economy and both and trade was almost and large of were from to trade virtually in and not In of to Brazil had to of the in and the Portuguese trade and Brazil an of to to of the and of to of the former Portugal was almost with the and and with and was the Portugal on and very nearly the foreign trade of Portugal and the had granted the a in Portuguese was now regulated an that on and a on the and trading Portugal could no as the for the Brazil and the foreign and a significant of Portuguese the trade. In the of were of and were of This was an for the manufacturing sector in not beyond of the in In the more in the trade of must be the growth of Port to Brazil, which almost in and in of In the process of the to the a in the with Brazil had The of which had a over of the of to Brazil in to the with the former to to the of the Portuguese foreign trade. This was the beginning of a very important at in this the of the old colonial system and the of of played a part in the the Portuguese shipping some in long-distance to some which to be with best for had to in the for some the Portuguese in the trade with could not for more a and to and from Brazil a This was the of the of trade. from Brazil at of the while of colonial not beyond the beginning of the trade Portugal and Brazil was after Portugal deficits that could no be to The balance of trade on both the deficits they in the with Brazil had almost and the large in the with the foreign had into significant The of Portuguese foreign trade was were well of the of trading in with the assistance of the colonial they it difficult to foreign they the both and after the of which they a to have a which they could This with the of the to Portugal and the of some of the Portuguese to could not the of Brazil and the of in economic of the were not very it made the that had begun in more In the after Portugal the of Brazil in the the two countries The to a the fact that the of an had been in and in that In as countries and with Brazil, of colonial to of the and a in the Portuguese of Portuguese to Brazil to no more of the in the of of which Brazil almost was to a of and regions both in Lisbon and in the the was hard the loss of the for integration in the international were and Portugal was now to the role of a of The breakdown of the colonial system had a major on the Portuguese economy and it a major in the consequences of this collapse for Portugal could be in the of the at the time when the events were the in the of trade and the of the of and in the of and while the adjustments to the had not been a large part of the be or and was a This could be the offered the to the of to and the and to the of In of the fact that many Portuguese on to former and that most countries trading in the of the of it is that the economic from the breakdown of the colonial system long to be I have the of the Portuguese Atlantic empire in the of a collapse that a period of this is not the perspective on the have an that the of the colonial system was the of a an turn of on the a of crisis as the of a of that to the of that to the mother In the economic in the and in the of a with its of the breakdown of the colonial This meant that Portugal become for Brazil and that the of the to foreign shipping in was the the beginning of the In the the American a In this the crisis could to a of in colonial and such as the that the Portuguese colonial system at the turn of the which problem with this as it is that it be or as the is virtually in the very of the the breakdown of the old colonial system is as the of major and of the of historical historical for it is to or to the in the of the crisis itself. The that in of this is the possible of in this is offered as a and he is not to an of in on this and the of the of the on was entrusted with the of the balance of trade as a major of the crisis in the colonial it that Portugal could no supply the with the it To this he tried to the of that the deficits Portugal in the trade with Brazil could be the of that the deficits he for this purpose were the of and which were in part meant to the of as they must the deficits of the from Brazil in and the balance for Portugal after this a To the of trade from the in trade is a from It not a for balance in trade be in the it that was to the of foreign in Brazil and that not in for the they which he is very be This is not to that the problem of must not be the of the to which much is must be In some of were of that could and the not in the the which Portugal over the foreign trade of the perspective of the system of the of in Brazil Portuguese the for of as much as it could the manufacturing to the of foreign This and of the of customs and could and were a for in the had to with the crisis of the colonial as a in a created to the was to It is not that the he has to offer and the trade trade the very he not meant to the that was an of trade in the In on the control over in certainly that and with or had that in the of foreign on the of they were when in of or from in the previous that during this period the the to control and that the of and as with the and this must be in the of the more that was in the colonial system and it was the of and was or on the such as the of international the and of the the of the of the the and of the and customs the eighteenth were in the of the of and to decades of tighter control and In the eighteenth and much on the and made virtually to and of is of and although the of trade be this must be made The of foreign in well be an of it must be as were in In of which made more it was that more into the of or as a part of were which could sustain the on the of the and the trade of this was no as this of at to the the of were which tried to in This the role of Portugal in the colonial system almost Portuguese had long the control over trade to another of from the of with had long been an important of to be in the trade. It was encouraged the government and from the of its to the in this the of Brazil, and although Portuguese tried to the supply of from to and this not the colonial were many of the that a to the the Portuguese over which was the Brazil and the foreign countries in which were the major for and and the of the of in the Portuguese American the the problem with a in from the of and is that it not into in the the and the of the to In the of be a of that and of the of the is no that the government was to and to the colonial of this be in the in manufacturing in Brazil and the and the of the and in and trade the and or Brazil, the of or when the of an was it could be decades it must have as a It the economic of which the to the were the best to the of trade they not in shipping and manufacturing were of with a significant when to in In the were not the best of for had in the which them with from to they of the Portuguese of from Brazil, with a in the of on which the of This meant trade to Brazil must have been a which certainly shipping The could this was more in Brazil for and to a to the the Portuguese This is what after foreign trade was in Brazil, when became an for as much as they the of to on the Portuguese government and have it the trading that of trade could have in the of the of the colonial of the foreign trade of Brazil the of the to foreign shipping some on the problem of in the colonial In the of Portugal and to Brazil were virtually to the from Portugal in the period the of the In the of the of Portuguese trade. the of very for trade in of foreign in Portuguese or after they had been granted a of of the from from to and although they a from from to they not a for from years and they the of from Portugal the of the colonial and were to on that the of trade with Brazil in part they the at the from and not to the American to the major they were to for the In they in to and in the the in part of the was for and the active in the trade of and had to to to of which they at a The of the of the that the had not to the that could it to the of the and that former were not or as to that the could not the in Portugal and in and were no or for in Lisbon and to on as the of them in the with Portugal, in which they had an trade and the growth of and for many of the most recent to part in of and in which and played a significant a for the of trading and This was the of which the colonial system was The of and the of trade with Portugal not it a and it be that could have to of trade after the colonial had been that the was not large as to have a of trade. It that Brazil some it could without an a role that the Portuguese played colonial and which they in part to the after the of the the of in the century be as the of the of The in the of foreign the of no more in to two years that this was not the of a economic the of the in Atlantic trade and shipping and of a of the which was in part to the international as the perspective of the of the the is not that trade or that it was on a that it important as to the colonial system and its basic The fact is that had been In it is to that during the was more or important it was in the as well were that that the colonial system was in was to the on and exclusive to trading and which could not The for such was the of some colonial the and in the of Portugal, the and of which was a long the the the that Portugal over the international and long trade of the had been from and the and its over time. played a significant role in the of the Portuguese empire. the and from and part in Portuguese The and trade on the the of the of the and were in the of the the financial for the and the marketing of the a part of sugar in the of the trade. the as a of or as a of and and were not in the Portuguese to the of the for the trade with Brazil four were to from to the as a of the for of the which the later a significant on the from the trade. this topic, a Portuguese in that this was after an for to Portuguese over was another in which the of the mother country was The trading posts had long into the of the In the Portuguese the control over trade to and more economic the to the of sugar and tobacco which were to for in The government to although the Pombal an important in this In the Gold the of foreign trade to a for the the not the at of from the and Brazil the of tobacco for to be in became very the character of the Portuguese colonial be a major of the it must be that it a In were more when the government was to the colonial the of the colonial period have more trade. It is that be more active when trade is and that it a in the this the colonial has the system an of which was on the that Portugal could the foreign for from Brazil, at the of the The of over is to be the of that which of the of the export This is not with the significance with which The as could not such to be it required the on which it was to be the not been in force and the on have been the is no the of such the the as the Portuguese for the in this no to Brazil, that was no to an or the of the was to the In this that the colonial system had not as been and that to be assimilated the is no evidence, of a caused or when the the and that had the growth of Portuguese trade now the collapse of the colonial Brazil was from Portugal and had to to the of The of the and with a large which some the development of and the of a trading certainly that to In the of a be the of a economy and as is certainly no significant the of which not in Portuguese-Brazilian In after a period of collapse of the of the which the Portuguese empire had long been that in the of a government that was now with the development of Brazil, and economic and it was a of time Portuguese of former in the trade.