Uma Revolução de Escala? O impacte do estanco no comércio de tabaco brasileiro (Lisboa, primeira metade do século XVIII)

Abstract

This chapter examines the changes that the Portuguese tobacco trade underwent in the first half of the eighteenth century and explores the role played the tobacco monopoly in explaining those changes. Based on eight purchase day books of the Royal Tobacco Factory of Lisbon, it showcases a decline in the number of importers between 1710 and 1737 and focuses on the farming of the tobacco monopoly by private partnerships as an explanatory variable. It concludes that the vertical integration of the supply chain, first introduced in 1722 and routinely implemented from then on, had a long lasting impact on the importers. However, the concentration of imports in a smaller number of importers was accompanied by a high degree of volatility among the largest importers, which stands in contrast with the trends noted by Price and Clemens for the English tobacco trade.