The “Colonial Pact ”, also called “Metropolitan Commercial Exclusive ” or “Colonial Exclusive ” corresponds to an agreement between the colony and the metropolis, which took place in Brazil during the colonial period.
This commercial relationship, which had taken place in a large part of America during the time of the conquests and the great navigations (16th and 17th centuries), was carried out in order to offer better profits to the metropolis, since the main intention was to exploit the resources (wood, precious metals, etc.) found in the new lands and use them as a form of wealth.
To learn more:Brazil Colony
Mercantilism
The mercantile system represented a system of economic practices that were fundamental in the economic development of the metropolises during the colonial period. Thus, mercantilism was a set of economic practices based on the exclusivity of the mercantile and manufacturing activities of the metropolis over the colony.
In addition to the commercial monopoly, this system favored a favorable trade balance, where the surplus was the main objective (export more than import), along with the ideal of metalism (a set of precious metals as a measure of wealth) and protectionism (guaranteeing high customs fees for imports, which further enhanced the commercial relationship only between the colony and the metropolis).
In view of this, the colonies were in charge of supplying the raw materials needed for the metropolis, a factor that made it impossible to develop an internal market, since everything was controlled by the metropolis, which made it difficult to import or export from other countries.
Finally, the colony was prohibited from producing articles that presented competition with those of the metropolis, which in turn, guaranteed their profits in the purchase of cheap raw materials which they sold at high prices.
To learn more:Mercantilism
Abstract
Since the 15th century, Portugal and Spain were the great overseas powers, which were forerunners in the conquest of the new lands found on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, coined as the “New World”. Thus, since 1492, with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in America, the territories found here were the target of many disputes and exploration.
In this sense, it is important to point out that indigenous tribes and other peoples lived here and many of them (such as the Mayas, Incas and Aztecs) built immense civilizations that, little by little, were being decimated in the face of the eagerness of the new conquerors to explore and populate the territories beyond. sea.
Thus, the two Iberian countries that first took to the sea developed some disputes, however, so that these relations could be more friendly and profitable for both, the limit that each one had was established in the Treaty of Tordesillas. However, the treaty was only on paper, since both, many times, did not respect the limits imposed.
For that, other documents became essential to establish such limits, thus, Spain, explored the territories first found in the New World and Portugal would continue its search in lands that today belong to Brazil. Thus, after the unbridled exploitation of pau-brasil, there was the sugarcane cycle and the gold cycle, both economic activities that benefited the metropolis until the end of the Colonial Pact.
In the meantime, Spain had great luck in the profits sent to the Metropolis, as in the territories of conquest there were many precious metals for exploitation, essential to enrich the metropolis. On the other hand, Portugal was not benefited so readily, since the main product of exploitation in the period of Colonial Brazil (1500-1530) was pau-brasil, a reddish wood used for dyeing fabrics. Thus, the monopoly of such a product was established for the metropolis, which, without the interference of the foreign market, controlled this exploitation through the payment of tributes and taxes.
That was the Colonial Pact between the Metropolis and the Colony, which in turn offered products and could not, under any circumstances, compete with it. This unilateral commercial relationship, since it favored only the metropolis, remained until the beginning of the 19th century, that is, with the arrival of the Royal Family in Brazil, in 1808, resulting in the opening of the ports, thus boosting the country's economy (generation market), in addition to expanding the range of possibilities, which could export products not only to the metropolis.
To learn more:
- The First Great Navigations
- Sugar Cane Cycle
- Gold Cycle
- Characteristics of Mercantilism