Chapter 8
In: The Crucible of Revolutionary and Napoleonic Warfare and European Transitions to Modern Economic Growth
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Abstract
This chapter considers Portugal’s involvement in the French wars from three points of view. It starts with the first ever assessment of its military cost. Given the assymetry between invader and invaded, the weight on the latter was less heavy than earlier views may have assumed. It was further mitigated by considerable aid from Britain. Defraying it was therefore less onerous than presumed and, in contrast with others, saved the country from a painful financial crisis,.
The second part focuses on the war’s impact on the economy as a whole, as well as on its sectors. A more precise and better founded quantitative approach confirmed the notion of a reversal, yet one that may not have been as intense as traditionally claimed.
The third approach explores the implications of the after-effects of war from 1815 to 1850. Initially, there was a window of opportunity for Portugal’s long term economic and institutional development. This was dashed, however, by the deep divisions bequeathed by the revolutionary and napoleonic wars and which this time led to disastrous financial consequences. By mid-century, after all the deep troubles had been settled, the country found itself hopelessly left behind the rest of western Europe.