Portugal: the Empire

and the Economy, 1500-1800

Pedro Lains

April 2018

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1. The roots of Portugal’s overseas expansion

2. Epochs of the Portuguese Empire

3. How important was the Empire for the Portuguese

economy?

4. The performance of the Portuguese economy

5. Conclusions and extensions

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Portuguese discoveries and explorations: first arrival places and dates; main Portuguese

spice trade routes in the Indian Ocean (blue); territories of the Portuguese Empire

under King John III rule (1521–1557) (green).

King João V of Portugal being served chocolate by his uncle the Duke of

Lafões, by Alessandro Castrioto, Oil on ivory, 1720 (12x11cm), MNAA

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The Jerónimos Monastery, built between c. 1501 and c.1600,

painted in 1657 by Filipe Lobo (Lisbon, MNAA)

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The Jerónimos Monastery today

8Gothic architecture in Europe, 12th to 15th Century

Commercial networks in 18th Century Europe

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10The Lisbon Cathedral, built in the 12th Century, in a 1910 photograph, after

the reconstruction, following the destruction from the 1755 earthquake.

11The Monastery of Batalha, built between 1386 and 1517

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13Source: Allen (2003)

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GDP per capita estimates (1300-1800) (Fouquet and Broadberry 2015)

19Source: Lains (2017)

20Source: Lains (2017)

5. Conclusions and extensions • The role of the Empire in Portugal’s development is an important

and relevant question

• It deals with the broader question of determining the sources of economic growth in the long-run

• We need to broaden the scope of the analysis and look at the origins of imperial expansion, the epochs of the empire, and to trends in the national economy

• When we look at the domestic economy, we do not find too many traits of the Empire

• The presence or absence of empires does not help apparently explain differences in European patterns of growth and development in the long-run

• The use of quantitative data and formal models is of great help, but still may not be enough

• Our quest for the role of Empires needs to remain an open quest

• We need to concentrate on the largest possible set of variables in order to understand economic growth and retardation

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“The intercontinental trade boom was a key development that propelled north-western Europe forwards. (…) However (…) the ascent of north-western Europe began in the century before the American and Asian trades became important. This emphasis extends the work of historians (…), who have noted that the commercial revolution began in the 17th Century before the Atlantic trades became significant and was an intra-European reorganization in which north-west Europeans outstripped Mediterranean producers in woollen textiles. On this reading of the evidence, the ascendancy of north-western Europe and the eclipse of Italy predated the rise of the Atlantic economy. The success of north-western Europe was based on a two-step advance—the first within Europe, the second in America and Asia.” (Allen 2003: 432)

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