ABSTRACT
Residence in Portugal does not appear to have been a statutory condition for membership. Membership of the factory had a business value and brought commercial and social prestige, besides a vote in the election of officers of the factory, some of whom were paid salaries whilst others held honorary positions. Factory membership was smaller and there were cases where it was necessary for English catholics to be members of their factories for protection. Because of the rifts caused by political and religious differences and local animosities, it would be unwise to identify membership of the factory with signatories to the many merchants' petitions preserved in the Public Record Office and the British Library. The factories became the business and organizational centres for all British nationals in Portugal and its Dominions. Paucity of official source material hampers research into the lives and organization of the English merchants in Portugal.
