Ericeira and the Economy

Abstract

Government involvement in the Portuguese economy expanded during the reign of D. Pedro II, and, in some respects, the state capitalism of the sixteenth century was revived. The 1672 reorganization of the Brazil Company as an organ of the royal bureaucracy and the establishment of the Tobacco Council (Junta do Tabaco) in 1674 were among the most important manifestations of increasing state involvement in the economy. The prince regent’s serious interest in forming a privately financed East India company suggested, however, that the real aim of the crown’s economic policy was the raising of capital from whatever source available, not expansion of the state’s role in the economy. Given the widespread animosity toward the predominantly New Christian mercantile class, it is not surprising that the crown itself became more deeply involved in economic affairs during an era of decline. And, thanks to the strong French influence at court, as well as the third estate’s advocacy of manufacturing, emulation of the policies of Jean Baptiste Colbert was perhaps predictable.