ABSTRACT
Portuguese currency history during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is rich and varied. Portugal is a peripheral country, a late developer closely integrated in the European economy, through its priviliged relations with the United Kingdom, and with special links with Brazil. The reading of Portugal’s experience reveals many common features with international experience, but also considerable differences, which makes Portugal an interesting and intriguing case study. Curiously enough, Portugal was the first nation to join the United Kingdom on the gold standard in 1854 and the last to restore gold convertibility in 1931. Although the three papers included in Part III of this volume deal with the monetary history of Portugal, they are different in kind. Chapter 8, by Mata and Valério, is an overview of 150 years of the nation’s currency events, which basically underscores the importance of the international monetary regime for a country’s economic development, while the other two papers confront the issue of Portugal’s decisions to join the gold standard in 1854 and 1931.
