The political economy of money and banking in Imperial Brazil, 1850-1870
The thesis examines the development of monetary and banking policies during the apogee of the Brazilian Empire (1850-70). It adopts a political economy approach to Brazilian monetary history, with the objective of contributing to the debate surrounding the relative autonomy of the imperial State in relation to the planter class (fazendeiros). The research has established two major points of historical fact: the peculiar nature of the gold standard regime in force in Brazil during part of the period, and the role of the Bank of Brazil therein. The analysis has also extended current knowledge of two major contemporary events in the financial sphere - the 1860 banking and corporate law and the Souto crisis of 1864. The former is shown to have been less draconian than claimed by historians while attention is drawn to the hitherto neglected role of private banks in fuelling the 1864 crisis. The thesis argues that between 1850 and 1870 the imperial government followed an approach to monetary and banking policy that could be termed âpragmatically conservativeâ. This tended to involve the âhard moneyâ combination of monetary restraint and adherence to the gold standard, although on crucial occasions - such
Villela, AndrĂ©
F1201 Latin America (General) ; HC Economic History and Conditions
The political economy of money and banking in Imperial Brazil, 1850-1870. The thesis examines the development of monetary and banking policies during the apogee of the Brazilian Empire (1850-70). It adopts a political economy approach to Brazilian monetary history, with the objective of contributing to the debate surrounding the relative autonomy of the imperial State in relation to the planter class (fazendeiros). The research has established two major points of historical fact: the peculiar nature of the gold standard regime in force in Brazil during part of the period, and the role of the Bank of Brazil therein. The analysis has also extended current knowledge of two major contemporary events in the financial sphere - the 1860 banking and corporate law and the Souto crisis of 1864. The former is shown to have been less draconian than claimed by historians while attention is drawn to the hitherto neglected role of private banks in fuelling the 1864 crisis. The thesis argues that between 1850 and 1870 the imperial government followed an approach to monetary and banking policy that could be termed âpragmatically conservativeâ. This tended to involve the âhard moneyâ combination of monetary restraint and adherence to the gold standard, although on crucial occasions - such
political_economy money banking imperial brazil examines_development monetary banking policy apogee brazilian empire adopts political_economy brazilian monetary history objective contribute_debate surround relative autonomy imperial state relation planter class establish two_major point historical fact peculiar nature gold standard regime force brazil part period role bank brazil therein analysis also extend current_knowledge two_major contemporary_event financial sphere banking corporate law crisis former show less claimed historian attention_drawn hitherto_neglect role private bank fuel crisis argues imperial government follow monetary banking policy could term pragmatically conservative tend involve hard money combination monetary restraint adherence gold standard although crucial occasion