Memoria concernente ás companhias de commercio com privilegio exclusivo dedicada a ElRei Nosso Senhor.

Lisbon, Na Impressão Regia, 1830.. FIRST and ONLY EDITION. 4°, stitched (stitching cut at spine). Small woodcut Portuguese royal arms on title page. Light soiling to title page and final blank leaf verso. In very good condition. Remains of white paper tag with blue border and serrated edges tipped on to lower inner corner of title page. 18 pp., (1 blank l.). *** FIRST and ONLY EDITION of this treatise on commercial and colonial policy. The author argues against the efficacy of monopolistic companies, giving as examples a Portuguese company for whaling off the coasts of Moçambique and the Companhia das Vinhas do Alto Douro, as well as companies of other European powers established for trading with colonies in the Americas, Asia, Africa, China, Canton, Macao, and the northeast coast of America. Portuguese trade in coffee from the islands of São Thomé and Príncipe is discussed, as are West Africa and Brazil. Also mentioned are the Bordeaux wine trade and the manufacture of Scottish and Irish whiskies. The author concludes that when commerce is free, state revenues increase. The author (1776?-after 1835?) was a knight of the Order of Avis and captain of a naval frigate. During the reign of D. Miguel he was Governor of São Thomé e Príncipe. Accused of extortion and arbitrary acts, he was found guilty by the Supremo Conselho de Justiça Militar and condemned to life imprisonment in the presidio de São José de Encoge.*** Goldsmiths’-Kress 26206.4. Not in Kress, Luso-Brazilian Economic Literature Before 1850. This title not in Innocêncio; for other works by the author see IV, 68-9; 440; XII, 23. Porbase locates a single copy, in the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal. No hard copies located in Jisc, which cites digital versions at University of Manchester and University of London. KVK (51 databases searched) locates only the copy cited in Porbase.