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The Methuen Treaty was a military and commercial treaty between
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
that was signed in 1703 as part of the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
. The treaty stipulated that no tax higher than the tax charged for an equal amount of French wines could be charged for Portuguese wines ''(but see below)'' exported to England, and that no English textiles exported to Portugal would be charged any taxes, regardless of the geopolitical situation in each of the two nations (to ensure England would still accept Portuguese wine in periods when not at war with France). Results of the deal were mixed. On the negative side, Portugal would not develop its industrial infrastructures (and therefore could be said to have lost the industrial race) and other types of agricultural products, since this period saw the appearance of other industries in Portugal, such as the manufacturing of
porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
. Some of the factories that appeared in this period still exist. On the positive side, Portugal retained a strong political position on a stage that revealed itself to be fundamental in preserving the territorial integrity of its most important colony, Brazil, as argued by the Brazilian economist
Celso Furtado Celso Monteiro Furtado (July 26, 1920 – November 20, 2004) was a Brazilian economist and one of the most distinguished intellectuals of his country during the 20th century. His work focuses on development and underdevelopment and on the persi ...
, in his work "Brazilian Economic Foundation".


Background

At the start of the
War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phili ...
Portugal was allied with France. As part of this treaty, the French had guaranteed the Portuguese naval protection. In 1702, the English navy sailed close to
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
on the way to and from Cadiz, proving to the Portuguese that the French could not keep their promise. They soon began negotiations with the Grand Alliance about switching sides. There were actually two Methuen Treaties. Both were negotiated for England in Lisbon by John Methuen ( 1650–1706), who served as a member of Parliament,
Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...
of
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
,
Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...
,
envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an automobile brand used to sell Br ...
and then ambassador extraordinary to Portugal. The first, signed in May, was a military alliance that cemented allegiances in the War of Spanish Succession, and was a 4-party treaty negotiated by Karl Ernst, Graf von Waldstein for the emperor, Francisco van Schonenberg (AKA Jacob Abraham Belmonte, c.q. Francesco Belmonte) for the United Provinces, and King Pedro II for Portugal, with Methuen's son Sir Paul Methuen (1672–1757) aiding him. The second one, the more well-known trade treaty, was a 2-party treaty signed on 27 December for England by Methuen and for Portugal by Manuel Teles da Silva, 3rd Marquis of Alegrete (1682–1736). The early years of the War of Spanish Succession, in
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, had been rather fruitless. The
Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
Party in England was concerned about the cost of the war, and felt that naval warfare was a much cheaper option, with greater potential for success. Portugal offered the advantage of deep-water ports near the Mediterranean which could be used to counter the French Naval base at
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
.


Treaty

There were three major elements to the Methuen Treaties. The first was the establishment of the war aims of the Grand Alliance. Secondly, the agreement meant that Spain would become a new theatre of war. Finally, it regulated the establishment of trade relations, especially between England and Portugal. Until 1703 the Grand Alliance had never established any formal war aims. The Methuen Treaties changed this as it confirmed that the alliance would try to secure the entire Spanish Empire for Charles of Austria, the Habsburg claimant to the Spanish thrones. The first treaty also established the numbers of troops the various countries would provide to fight the campaign in Spain. The Portuguese also insisted that Archduke Charles would come to Portugal to lead the forces in order to ensure full allied commitment to the war in Spain. The second treaty, signed on 27 December 1703 (popularly known as the "Port Wine Treaty") helped to establish trading relations between England and Portugal. The terms of it allowed English woollen cloth to be admitted into Portugal free of duty; in return, Portuguese wines imported into England would be subject to a third less duty than wines imported from France. This was particularly important in helping the development of the
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
industry. As England was at war with France, it became increasingly difficult to acquire wine, and so port started to become a popular replacement. Cypher and Dietz, in the book ″The Process of Economic Development″, say that: "Portugal specialized in a commodity that did not have the same growth potential as did cloth for England. Portugal's economy suffered consequently, as the productive structure and institutions were moulded in the direction of wine production. In fact, after trade was rapidly expanded following the Methuen Treaty in 1703, Portugal was left with a sizeable deficit as its exports to England fell short of its imports from England. The boom in Portuguese-English trade fortuitously coincided with a
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...
in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, Portugal's colony, enabling the Portuguese to cover their deficit for a time with a colonial gold flow, but the benefits of specialization and trade over the longer term were illusive."


Ireland 1780s

The
Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label= Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...
imported Portuguese wine at the low Methuen tariffs, but was banned under the Navigation Acts from exporting. In 1779, Ireland was granted "free trade", but Portugal imposed higher tariffs on Irish textile imports than on English ones, arguing it was outside the terms of the Methuen treaty. This was a tactic in Portugal's broader attempt to make Britain renegotiate the Methuen treaty. As the dispute dragged on, Ireland imposed higher tariffs on Portuguese goods, and the
Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...
' 1782 Dungannon resolutions included calls for a boycott of its wines. The 1786
Eden Agreement The Eden Treaty was a treaty signed between Great Britain and France in 1786, named after the British negotiator William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland (1744–1814). It effectively ended, for a brief time, the economic war between France and Great Br ...
between Britain and France caused Portugal to relent in 1787 and allow Ireland low tariffs.


References

{{Reflist


Further reading

*Francis, A.D. "John Methuen and the Anglo-Portuguese Treaties of 1703". ''The Historical Journal'' Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 103–124. 1703 in England 1703 in Portugal 1703 treaties 18th-century military alliances Treaties of the Kingdom of Portugal Military alliances involving England Military alliances involving Portugal Commercial treaties 18th-century economic history War of the Spanish Succession Treaties of England England–Portugal relations