Commercial Relations of England and Portugal

A.B.W. Chapman, V.M. Shillinton

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781136622588
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

First Published in 2005. This book looks at the commercial relations between England and Portugal during the mediaeval period, including merchant trading. Due to the relations between Prince Henry the Navigator, and Vasco da Gama, the Anglo - Portuguese alliance, of which the origins can be traced back to the time of the crusades, and which lasted practically during the whole mediaeval period, is almost unique in the history of the Middle Ages for the care with which it was maintained, for its popularity in both countries, and for its beneficial results to both parties.

PART I : MEDIÆVAL

By V. M. SHILLINGTON.

INTRODUCTION

AMONGST the most important chapters in the commercial history of a nation, during any given period of time, must necessarily be those dealing with the commercial relations maintained during that time with the various foreign nations, through whose co - operation or rivalry its own trade has advanced towards the attainment of fuller limits. With regard to England, a good deal is already known respecting the commercial transactions carried on during the Middle Ages with Flanders, the Italian cities, or the Hanse towns ; but, on the other hand, the trade relations of the English of this period with other important countries still remain more or less obscure, and this is especially noticeable in the case of Portugal. Possibly this obscurity is due to the small part played by the Portuguese in the political history of Europe. More probably, however, it may be attributed to the want of those monetary dealings with the English kings, which made the Italians, for instance, so famous in English commercial history. Be this as it may, the fact remains that the Portuguese have received comparatively very little notice in connection with England’s foreign trade in the Middle Ages.

Yet, as the present writer has attempted to show in the following chapters, the mediæval commercial relations between England and Portugal were not without their importance. In the absence of sufficiently detailed statistics as to exports and imports, it is, of course, impossible to compare the bulk or value of the trade carried on during this period between England and Lisbon with that carried on for instance, between England and Genoa or Bruges ; but it is clear that from a very early period the English and Portuguese merchants were well known to each other, and that as the prosperity of their respective countries increased, the extent and importance of the commerce carried on between them increased also.

Apart from the actual importance to mediæval England of her trade with Portugal, the commercial relations of the two countries during this period have an interest entirely their own. This is due partly to the close political alliance that existed during the same time between England and Portugal, and partly to the romance attaching to the commercial history of the latter country on account of the brilliant achievements of her illustrious sons, Prince Henry the Navigator, and Vasco da Gama.

The Anglo - Portuguese alliance, of which the origins can be traced back to the time of the crusades, and which lasted practically during the whole mediæval period, is almost unique in the history of the Middle Ages for the care with which it was maintained, for its popularity in both countries, and for its beneficial results to both parties. Though the present essay is not directly concerned with the subject of the early Portuguese navigators and their successes, yet these had also an important effect in furthering the growth of trade between England and Portugal. It was a fortunate coincidence for the English that the country, which by virtue of having discovered the long - sought sea route to India, emerged at the end of the fifteenth century into the foremost rank of the commercial nations of the world, was one with which their government was so firmly in alliance, and in which they had already received valuable royal grants of trading privileges and exemptions from taxes.

Besides the interest bestowed on the subject by the nature of the political relations between England and Portugal, and by the important part played by the latter in the world’s commercial history, the amount and character of the original material obtainable for the purpose seemed on the whole to warrant a study of the mediæval commercial relations of these two countries. Disappointing though it is in many respects, as, for instance, with regard to the environment of the Portuguese merchants living in England, for trading or other purposes, on which subject information is almost entirely wanting¹, yet on some points, notably the conditions of life and trade for the English merchants in Portugal in the fifteenth century, it affords much valuable information².

The study of the later commercial relations of England and Portugal is chiefly interesting as an illustration of the immense development of England’s foreign and colonial trade during that period.

As in the earlier period, it is difficult to obtain direct evidence as to the total value of the trade. Not till the eighteenth century are there any details available to show its volume, or the proportion it bore to the rest of England’s foreign commerce ; and even the figures given in the Board of Trade returns, which then began to appear, must be received with considerable caution. On the other hand, if accuracy of detail is unattainable, much general information of great interest may be gathered from the various State Papers. Roughly speaking, the Domestic and Foreign State Papers supply the bulk of what is known for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ; while the Board of Trade Commercial MSS. are the chief source of information for the eighteenth.

In addition to these sources valuable supplementary information can be obtained from the various collections of MSS. in the British Museum—especially the Cotton and Lansdowne Collections. Further details can also be found in the numerous pamphlets put forward by the manufacturers, who looked to the government for the protection of their trade. These pamphlets are especially useful for the period 1690 to 1710. On the other hand, the opinions of persons trading from Portugal to England appear not only in communications from the Portuguese government, but in the reports from the consuls of the English factories at Lisbon and Oporto.

These factories, from the beginning of the seventeenth century onward, play a very important part in the commerce of the two nations³. The gradual monopoly of Portuguese commerce, and the Portuguese revolt against them, forms the main thread in the story of the trade between England and Portugal from 1654 to 1756, or even later. The growth of the factories, however, as well as other commercial phenomena, was deeply affected by the manner in which political and economic motives reacted upon each other at this time.

In the sixteenth century, colonial rivalry had added another element of such importance that it nearly drove the old allies to war ; but by 1640 this had ceased to be a pressing question in Anglo - Portuguese relations. England had established her foothold in the east, while Portugal was still under the yoke of Spain, and henceforth disturbances in India only indirectly affected European policy ; while, so far as America was concerned, a direct trade between England and Brazil was never seriously demanded by the English government as England’s share in that commerce was absorbed by her merchants in Portugal.

Thus, commercial beliefs and political necessities could work unchecked. Both worked in the same direction. England valued her commerce with Portugal, because it was a trade in which she imported little and exported much, while Portugal’s political necessities rendered the support of England vital to her ; and this situation lasted till near the end of the eighteenth century.

In dealing with the earlier part of the subject, it has seemed desirable to begin with a brief sketch of the political relations of the two countries, tracing the progress of the friendship which finally ripened into a close alliance. In the two following chapters an account is given of the growth of the trade between England and Portugal, noticing the measure of protection and encouragement enjoyed at various times by the merchants engaged in this traffic, with such other circumstances as from time to time affected the development of the trade. The two remaining chapters of Part I. are occupied with details omitted from the foregoing account. The first of these chapters [chap. iv.] deals with certain risks attending the trade, and the last chapter, among other conditions of the trade, attempts a description of the life of the English cloth merchants in Lisbon in the fifteenth century.

The later relations of England and Portugal, on the other hand, appear to fall into four parts. From 1487 to 1580 the dominating motive is mainly colonial, and England is at once the inferior and the aggressive power. From 1580 to 1640 Portugal had no independent existence, and though Anglo-Portuguese trade continued, the English government could not, of course, adopt a definite and separate policy towards a Spanish province. Thirdly, from 1640 to almost the middle of the eighteenth century, commercial and political motives alike combine to secure the predominance of England over her old ally. Finally, from about 1756 onwards, the development of Portuguese resources, the growth of the Brazil cotton industry, the change in England’s commercial policy due to Pitt’s adoption of the views of Adam Smith, all tended to effect a not undesirable change. A more equitable adjustment of the Anglo - Portuguese relations seemed to be almost in sight, when Portugal was suddenly overwhelmed by the flood of the French invasion.

Part II. of this book is an attempt to explain and support these views of the relations of England with Portugal between the years 1487 and 1807. A list of sources will be found below, and the Appendix contains text of some hitherto unpublished documents, which, however, are mere selections from a vast mass of inedited sources.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LIST OF MANUSCRIPT SOURCES

PART I

MEDIÆVAL HISTORY

A.—PRINTED SOURCES

(I.) Bibliographies, Indexes, etc.

CALENDARIUM ROTULORUM PATENTIUM. Record Com. 1802.

CARTE, THOMAS. Catalogue des rolles gascons, normans et françois. 2 vols. London, 1743.

FIGANIÈRE, F. F. DE LA. Catalogo dos Manuscriptos Portuguezes existentes no Museu Britannico. Lisbon, 1853.

FIGANIÈRE, J. C. DE. Bibliographia Historica Portugueza. Lisbon, 1850.

GROSS, CHARLES. Sources and Literature of English History. 1900.

HARDY, T. D. Syllabus of Documents in Rymer’s Fœdera. London, 1869-85.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE. Lists and Indexes :—

i. List of ancient petitions of the Chancery and Exchequer. 1892.

xv. List of correspondence of the Chancery and Exchequer. 1902.

REPORTS OF THE DEPUTY KEEPER OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS. Appendices.

REPORTS OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON HISTORICAL MSS.

(II.) Fœdera, Records, etc.

CALENDAR OF THE CLOSE ROLLS, 1227-31, 1272-88, etc. Roll Series. 1892.

CALENDAR OF LETTER-BOOKS OF THE CITY OF LONDON. Ed. R. R. Sharpe. Letter-Books A, C, G. London, 1899-1905.

CALENDAR OF THE PATENT ROLLS, 1272-1348, 1377-96, etc. Rolls Series. 1891.

HISTORIC AND MUNICIPAL DOCUMENTS OF IRELAND, 1172-1320. Ed. J. T. Gilbert. Rolls Series. London, 1870.

ISSUES OF THE EXCHEQUER. Translated by Frederick Devon. London, 1837.

LITTLE RED BOOK OF BRISTOL. Ed. F. B. Bickley.

MONUMENTA JURIDICA : THE BLACK BOOK OF THE ADMIRALTY. Ed. Travers Twiss. Rolls Series. 4 vols. London, 1871-76.

MUNIMENTA GILDHALLÆ LONDONIENSIS. Ed. T. H. Riley. Rolls Series. Liber albus, Liber custu...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• PART I : MEDIÆVAL
• INTRODUCTION
• BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LIST OF MANUSCRIPT SOURCES
• CHAPTER I: THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND PORTUGAL IN THE MIDDLE AGES
• CHAPTER II: EARLY COMMERCIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND PORTUGAL
• CHAPTER III: GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRADE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND PORTUGAL
• CHAPTER IV: RISKS AND VICISSITUDES OF THE TRADE
• CHAPTER V: GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE ANGLO-PORTUGUESE TRADE ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY
• PART II : MODERN
• CHAPTER I: COLONIAL RIVALRY (1487-1580)
• CHAPTER II: THE COMPANY OF MERCHANTS TRADING TO SPAIN AND PORTUGAL (1577-1640)
• CHAPTER III: THE LISBON FACTORY AND THE TREATY OF 1654 (1640-1654)
• CHAPTER IV: THE METHUEN TREATY (1654-1703)
• CHAPTER V: THE ENGLISH FACTORIES IN PORTUGAL AND THE BRAZIL TRADE (1660-1756)
• CHAPTER VI: THE COMPANY OF THE WINES OF THE ALTO DOURO (1756-1787)
• CHAPTER VII: THE BRAZIL TRADE (1786-1807)
• APPENDIX I
• APPENDIX II
• INDEX