We construct the first time-series for Portugal
’s per capita GDP for 1500-1850, drawing on a
new and extensive database. Starting around 1550 there was a highly persistent upward trend
of per capita income, which accelerated after 1700 and peaked 50 years later. At that point, per
capita incomes were high by European standards. But as the second half of the eighteenth century unfolded, a phase of economic decline was initiated. This continued into the nineteenth
century, and Portugal found itself as one of the most backward European economies precisely
at the dawn of the era of modern economic growth.