1677 – A Fábrica d’El-Rei

Description:

Historical study of the Royal Cloth Factory of Covilhã and the development of the Portuguese textile industry from the seventeenth century onwards. The book examines the economic, political and technological context of wool production in Portugal, the international trade networks connected with the Covilhã region, and the impact of the Methuen Treaty on the Portuguese textile sector. Special attention is given to the role of Sephardic merchant families networks and to the circulation of knowledge, dyes and textile techniques between Portugal, England and other parts of Europe. Based on archival documents, correspondence and historical records, the work reconstructs the origins and evolution of one of the most important textile centres in Portuguese history.

subjects: Covilhã,  Real Fábrica de Panos,  Portuguese textile industry,  wool trade,  Methuen Treaty,  Portuguese economic history,  Sephardic diaspora,  Ximenes family,  Duarte family merchants,  early modern trade networks,  Baroque Portugal.

People: Catherine of Braganza,  John Methuen,  Pedro II of Portugal,  Portuguese Sephardic merchants and manufacturers.

Places: Covilhã,  Portugal,  Lisbon,  Antwerp,  London,  Hamburg,  Pernambuco (Brazil).

Times: Textiles Manufactures,  17th century,  jews,  new-christians,  18th century,  Methuen Treaty period,  french invasions,  19th Century.