The formation and consolidation of customs guidelines in Colonial Brazil

Rio de Janeiro (XVI-XVIII centuries)

Abstract

The article aims to analyze how customs in Portuguese America were created in the beginning of the colonization process, when the General Government and the Public Treasury Administration were formed in 1548. We show that local Brazilian customs had their own specificities as compared to Portuguese customs, since the Portuguese state had to control mercantile groups carrying out trade regionally and with Lisbon. And this also meant controlling the colonial production output. In terms of organization and inspection, the Lisbon customs were a model for other metropolitan and colonial customs within the mercantilist system of the Portuguese Empire. In Brazil, however, the custom structure was still in an early stage, if compared with the existing structure in mainland Portugal. We show that there was an unsuccessful attempt in the first half of the 18th century to enact a new Customs Code in Brazil. Finally, we point out that the customs institution in Rio de Janeiro was essential for controlling trade in the South-Central region, seeking to the guarantee trade exclusively with the mainland, and, by doing so, to materialize the colonial system.