Agrarian elites and economic growth in the Portuguese periphery during the 19th century: the example of the Alentejo in the liberal era (1850-1910)

Abstract

Distancing itself from a view of the Alentejo marked by a century-long and inexorable history of under development and poverty in relation to the rest of the country, this article discusses the role of the economic elite during the liberal era. Based on a prosopography focused on the members of the region's elite class in the latter half of the 19^th century, the author analyses some aspects of the entrepreneurial organization and orientation. From this point of view, the classic view, based on economic and social behaviour, that classifies these social actors as a «traditional elite» is unsustainable. On the contrary, in view of the differentiated way in which they took part in old and new businesses, which were an expression of the relative «material» progress in the region during that period, the author argues that the economic elite that emerged in the Alentejo was, alongside other national and foreign agents, an important protagonist in the modern outlook that the whole economy of the region adopted at the time. In addition to this, an analysis that focuses on the landed investment and the investment in agricultural exploitation, which is, beyond question, a long-term option, does not necessarily weaken this view and only a superficial appraisal could link this engagement to the persistence of an aristocratic influx, a «perversion» frequently attributed to the Portuguese bourgeoisie.