The Brasilian independence and its repercussion in Portugal

Abstract

An external factor - the influence (colonization) exerted by England at every level of the national life - and an internal factor - the structure (basically seignorial) of the property in land - are, according to the author, the factors enlightening the analysis of the problem of the Portuguese industrial backwardness after the first half of the nineteenth century. But one must add, to the second factor, another one of fundamental importance: the loss of the Brasilian colonial market made effective since 1815. The shy answer to the challenge of the new times passed indeed through the privileged re-establishment of mercantile transactions with the ex-colony. It is exactly the analysis of this option rather than others, - and an option that lasted up to the second half of the century, having mortgaged the development of Portugal at a long term - , that is the object of this article.