José Maria Eugenio de Almeida, a capitalist of the «Regeneração»

Abstract

José Maria Eugénio de Almeida was one of the greatest Portuguese capitalists of the third quarter of the last century. This article is a study of some of the main aspects of his life and business activities. It is his base on his vast private archive and its aim is to examine the applicability, in this particular case, of current explanations about Portuguese economic backwardness in the 19^th century and the role played in this by the national bourgeoisie. At first sight, the fit with these explanations is a good one but a closer look at the circumstances casts some doubt on this. Eugénio de Almeida did indeed become rich thanks initially to business deals carried out through the State. He belonged to the great financial bourgeoisie which flourished during the 1840s and 1850s, he invested heavily in land and had little to do with more «development oriented» activities. On the other hand the great variety of his assets and the ease with which he shifted from one kind of investment to another make it very hard to apply to him the traditional taxonomy in Portugal for classifying the bourgeoisie. At the same time, his business decisions were clearly shaped by strictly business motivations, not by any desire to acquire an «aristocratic» veneer or out of any fear for the consequences of economic development. Eugénio de Almeida's entrepreneurial strategy was guided by the aim of making money and his choices of investment were guided by the aim of making money and his choices of investment were simply a flexible response to the economic opportunities of each moment. The same can be seen when we look at the way in which he administered the enormous landed holding he succeeded in amassing in the course of his life.