Methuen, Treaty of (1703)

Treaty of Methuen (1703), an agreement between Portugal (represented by the marquês de Alegrete) and Britain (represented by John Methuen) that formalized existing trade patterns between the two countries and laid the groundwork for Portugal's economic dependence on Britain for the remainder of the eighteenth century. On 27 December 1703, Portugal agreed to purchase English wheat, textiles, and manufactured goods in exchange for preferential duties on such Portuguese products as olive oil and wine.

Neither Portugal nor Britain anticipated Brazilian gold and diamond strikes in Minas Gerais, Goiás, and Mato Grosso during the early eighteenth century, nor the impact these newly found riches would have on Portuguese-British trade. Portugal's imports began to escalate as the new sources of wealth were used to purchase increasing amounts of raw materials from Britain's North American colonies and luxury imports from Britain. British industrialization boomed as Portugal neglected its manufacturing. During the early eighteenth century, the trade imbalance was paid for with Brazilian treasure. After 1755, as the Brazilian mines began to play out, Portugal became increasingly dependent on Britain's imports and goodwill to maintain Portuguese independence.

As Portuguese colonists, Brazilians found that decisions regarding their future were often dominated by British priorities, which increased the frustration of the already antagonized Brazilian upper class, who wanted free trade, open ports, and an end to Portuguese restrictions on the development of Brazilian industries.

See alsoCommercial Policy: Colonial Brazil; Trade, Colonial Brazil.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alan David Francis, The Methuens and Portugal, 1691–1708 (1966).

E. Bradford Burns, A History of Brazil (1980), pp. 79-80.

Leslie Bethell, ed., The Cambridge History of Latin America, vol. 1 (1984), pp. 461-487.

                                      Lesley R. Luster