The Strangford Treaty, as it is known in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(sometimes known as the Anglo-Brazilian Treaty of 1810), also known as the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(''Tratado de Comércio e Navegação''), was a treaty signed at Rio de Janeiro the 19th of February 1810 by the British and the Portuguese government, then in exile in its colony of Brazil. The treaty granted the British special commercial privileges, notably preferential tariffs of 15% on British goods imported into Brazil, in exchange for their defense of Portugal and its colonies during the Napoleonic War. Portugal also agreed to limit the importation of African slaves and to consider the abolition of the slave trade. In 1785, a decree proclaimed that Brazilian factories could only produce cloth that would be used for clothing slaves or to make sacks for food goods. This decree was lifted in 1808, accompanied by an open ports policy. To help recover their internal industry, Brazil imposed Tariff protection on imports. During this period, the British had helped the Portuguese government to flee the invading French army and find refuge in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. The

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

diplomat,

Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford Percy Clinton Sydney Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford (31 August 178029 May 1855) was a British diplomat. Early life He was the son of Lionel Smythe, 5th Viscount Strangford (1753–1801) and Maria Eliza Philipse. In 1769, his sixteen-year-old ...

, negotiated an agreement to grant Britain trade privileges with Brazil. In return for these Brazilian concessions, the British would convince the Portuguese government to recognise Brazilian independence. The result of the treaty was that exports from the United Kingdom came to dominate markets in Brazil. Imported British goods only received a 15%

duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; , past participle of ; , whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality, e ...

, compared to 25% for goods from other nations. It also limited legal recourse by Brazilians against British subjects and allowed British agents to become established throughout the country. As a result, low cost imported goods from Britain which were manufactured by

machine industry The machine industry or machinery industry is a subsector of the industry, that produces and maintains machines for consumers, the industry, and most other companies in the economy. This machine industry traditionally belongs to the heavy indust ...

began to swamp markets that had previously been dominated by the local handicrafts industry. Exports of tobacco and sugar from Brazil to British markets were prohibited, which protected producers in the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...

. The treaty was written so as to expire in 1825 unless renewed. It remained in effect until 1844.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{citation , first1=Benjamin , last1=Keen , first2=Keith , last2=Haynes , author1-link=Benjamin Keen , page=169 , title=A History of Latin America , year=2008 , edition=8th , publisher=Cengage Learning , isbn=978-0-618-78318-2 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_FVIOhdR9n8C&pg=PA169 {{citation , first1=John , last1=DeWitt , year=2002 , title=Early globalization and the economic development of the United States and Brazil , pages=96–98 , publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group , isbn=0-275-97199-6 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-Ml4U5EkxsC&pg=PA97 Commercial treaties 1810 treaties Treaties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922) Treaties of the Kingdom of Portugal Brazil–United Kingdom relations