‘Public-private partnerships’ : the Portuguese General Company of Pernambuco and Paraíba (1759)

Abstract

This paper proposes that we can learn from past experience, how specific contexts can explain specific public-private interfaces and the corporate governance rules ascribed to them, and so inform debate about modern ventures of this type. To this end, the paper explores the ‘public-private partnership’ of the Portuguese Companhia Geral de Comércio de Pernambuco e Paraíba (CGPP – General Company of Pernambuco and Paraíba) founded in 1759 by the Pombal Government. Based on archival sources, and considering the social, economic and political context, the study helps to enhance understanding of how the Portuguese enlightened despotic regime developed and connected the empire through a corporatist interface with a private company.