The Monetary System of the Luso-Brazilian Empire: the Changing Role of the ‘Provincial’ Currency in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Abstract

In this research we try to explain the dual character of the monetary system of the Luso-Brazilian Empire brought about by the introduction of a parallel, or complementary, currency in Brazil by the end of the XVII century. The simultaneous circulation of ‘provincial’ and ‘national’ coins can explain why these units of exchange did not act as both store and standard of value. Money had not only a hierarchy character according the value of payments (gold, silver and copper) but also the mint policy varied in the different areas of circulation. This implied that not all these coins were hoarded or obtained the same status on international market. Nevertheless, since the 17th century we have an evolution that we need to recognize and understand. This implied that ‘provincial’ money as a concept had an evolution and other attributes to make this money broadly acceptable as units of exchange. Which are the convergence of mechanisms that explain the emergence and consolidation of a money economy in the Portuguese Empire? We will analyse the monetary relations between Brazil and Portugal and the time span is since the 17th century until the 19th century.