The General Contract of Tobacco and the Azorean Economy (17th and 18th Centuries)

UIDB/04666/2020 UIDP/04666/2020 From the second half of the 17th century, the Tobacco trade became one of the main revenues for the European colonial empires. In Portugal there was a general contract, based on a system of contracts and exclusive businesses, with associated financial and tax benefits. How were the regulatory and surveillance mechanisms of this monopoly transposed to insular spaces? What kind of behavior did contractors have in island society? What is the role of the tobacco trade in the Azorean economy? These are some of the questions we will try to answer in this text. A partir da segunda metade do século XVII, o comércio do tabaco passou a ser uma das principais receitas dos impérios coloniais europeus. Em Portugal existia um contrato geral, baseado em regime de contratos e negócios exclusivos, com benefícios financeiros e fiscais associados. Como foram transpostos para os espaços insulares os mecanismos reguladores e de vigilância deste monopólio? Que tipo de comportamentos tinham os contratadores na sociedade insular? Qual o papel do comércio do Tabaco na economia açoriana? Estas são algumas das perguntas que tentaremos responder neste texto. publishersversion published