An Economic History of Portugal, 1143-2010
The standard long-run account, from empire trade through EU convergence.
Summary
The reference has not verified this book in detail; the summary states only what the title, author and subject establish.
Costa, Lains and Munch Miranda wrote a long-run economic history of Portugal covering nearly nine centuries, from the medieval kingdom's formation to the aftermath of the financial crisis. The reference has not verified the book's detailed contents.
The scope establishes the questions such a history addresses. Portugal was among the first European states to establish a global maritime empire in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, capturing the spice trade and later Brazilian gold, and this wealth did not produce sustained domestic development. The country was among Western Europe's poorest by the nineteenth century, industrialised late and partially, spent much of the twentieth century under an authoritarian regime pursuing autarkic policies, then democratised in 1974, lost its African colonies, joined the European Community in 1986, and joined the euro. It subsequently required an international assistance programme in 2011.
The analytical questions include why early imperial wealth did not translate into growth, which parallels the Spanish case; the role of the wine trade and the Methuen treaty relationship with Britain; the persistence of low literacy and weak human capital; the effect of Salazar's economic policies; the consequences of decolonisation and of European integration; and the sources of the debt accumulation that produced the 2011 programme.
The authors work with reconstructed national accounts and quantitative series, which is the contribution such a volume makes. Readers should consult the table of contents for the periods relevant to them.
Key takeaways 7
- Early imperial wealth from the spice trade and Brazilian gold did not produce sustained domestic economic development.
- Portugal was among Western Europe's poorest countries by the nineteenth century despite its earlier imperial position.
- Persistently low literacy and weak human capital constrained industrialisation over a very long period.
- The trade relationship with Britain shaped Portuguese production toward wine and away from manufacturing.
- Authoritarian rule through much of the twentieth century pursued autarkic policies that delayed integration with European markets.
- European Community accession in 1986 produced convergence that subsequently stalled.
- Long-run reconstructed national accounts permit comparison across centuries that narrative history alone cannot support.
Who should read it
Economic historians and analysts working on long-run European divergence or on Portugal specifically.
Where it sits in the reference 2
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