Methuen Treaty
The
Methuen Treaty was an offensive military and commercial treaty between
Portugal and
England signed in
1703 as part of the
War of the Spanish Succession. The treaty meant to Portugal renounce a further manufacturing development and implied in transferring to England the dinamic impulse created by the Brazilian gold production. The deal was tremendously negative to Portugal, since the country would not develop its industrial infrastructures and other types of agricultural products. Some authors claim that Portugal lost the industrial race in part due to this treaty. Thanks to this deal, however, Portugal kept a strong political position in a stage that revealed itself fundamental in keeping the territorial integrity of its most important colony: Brazil, as stated the Brazilian economist Celso Furtado in his work "Brazilian Economic Foundation".
At the start of the War of Spanish Succession Portugal had allied with
France, as part of this treaty the French had guaranteed the Portuguese naval protection. However in 1702 the British navy had sailed close to
Lisbon on the way to and from
Cadiz proving to the Portuguese the French could not keep their promise. They soon began negotiations with the
Grand Alliance about switching sides.
The Methuen treaty was negotiated by
John Methuen (c.1650-1706) who served as a Member of Parliament;
Lord Chancellor of
Ireland;
Privy Councilor;
Envoy and then Ambassador Extraordinary to Portugal where he negotiated the "Methuen" Treaty of 1703 which cemented allegiances in the War of Spanish Succession.
The early years of the War of Spanish Succession, in
Flanders, had been rather fruitless. The
Tory party back in England were 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 a deep water ports near the Mediterranean which could be used to counter the French Naval base at
ToulonThere were three major elements to the Methuen Treaty, the first was the establishment of the war aims of the Grand Alliance. Secondly an agreement between that
Spain should become a new theatre of war and the finally the establishment of trade relations especially between Britain and Portugal.
Up until 1703, the Grand Alliance had never established any formal war aims. The Methuen Treaty changed this as it confirmed that the alliance would try and secure the entire Spanish Empire for the Austrian claimant to the throne the Archduke Charles later
Charles VI of Austria.
The treaty also established the numbers of troops the various countries would provide to fight the campaign in Spain. The Portuguese army was very poorly organized and equipped and so they had to depend on funding from England. The Portuguese also insisted that Archduke Charles would come to Portugal to ad the forces in order to ensure full allied committed to the war in Spain.
The treaty also helped establish trading relations between England and Portugal. The terms of the treaty 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 in contrast to French imported wines. This was particularly important with regards to the Port industry. As England was at war with France it became increasingly difficult to acquire wine and so port started to become a popular replacement.
*Francis, A.D.
John Methuen and the Anglo-Portuguese Treaties of 1703. The Historical Journal Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 103 - 124.
*
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