From libra to real: On the formation of Portuguese monetary system (1185-1580)

Abstract

This article studies the formation of the monetary system in Portugal, between 1185 and 1580, in its continuous transformation and manipulation. The creation of a monetary system is an activity of ceaseless engineering and the making of money, and is directly articulated with the very emergence of exclusive power, of its monopoly by the interests crystallized in a center of power, that is, the monarchy. In this sense, this article seeks to understand the production of this hierarchical and consistent system of account symbols, instruments of exchange and payment, by the continuous action of currency manipulation: its mutation, adjustment, factory and refactory ... by its main protagonist, which is the monarchy, but also its interested partners, such as the nobility, the merchant, that is, the masters and owners of wealth.