ABSTRACT
In 1768 retail shops were closed and all corn was ordered to be taken there, but the corn was put into sacks and piled in small spaces which caused it to rot. From a parecer written by Pombal to the king in 1750, it seems likely that most of the troubles experienced by the British merchants in the corn trade were deliberately engineered by Pombal. In 1761 the corn merchants were again experiencing trouble. The factory complained to the consul that the judge of the corn market had been insisting that merchants send him samples of their corn with an account of the prices they sold it for. This was something which had never before been demanded of importers, but only of very small local retailers. When the merchants protested the judge insisted that unless they complied, they would have to sign a paper waiving their privileges as British subjects.
