ABSTRACT
Portuguese customs policy in the period between 1842 and 1913 is generally divided in our historical studies into three distinct periods, falling between the statutes of 1852 and 1892. The first of these regulations, issued under the signature of Fontes Pereira de Melo, altered the commercial policy that began in 1837, during the government of Passos Manuel. The second, promulgated in the midst of the financial crisis of 1891, is blamed for the return to the protectionist system.3 As we will attempt to show in this chapter, this interpretation of successive modifications to Portuguese customs policy, in the period we propose to study here, is not exact. The origins of this uncertainty lie in the fact that the analysis of the Portuguese customs system has largely been based on public opinion, derived from government and opposition political debate.
