Reorganizing the Escudo Zone: Portuguese Monetary Policy and Empire-Union in Africa in the 1960s

In the 1960s, the escudo zone, comprising Portugal and its African colonies, countered the trend of European decolonization. The Portuguese state reorganized monetary relations in the empire-state with the help of a new legal framework. The aim of this imperial economic reorganization was to establi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAfrican studies review Vol. 66; no. 3; pp. 678 - 697
Main Author Mata, Maria Eugénia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.09.2023
Subjects
19th century
20th century
Agribusiness
Colonies & territories
Currency
Decolonization
Economic development
Economic growth
Exports
Fixed exchange rates
Globalization
Investments
Modernization
Monetary policy
Monetary unions
Plantations
Politics
Prosperity
Reorganization
South America
Brazil
Mozambique
Angola
Portugal
Africa
economic development
Lusophone Africa
colonization
Portugal
Escudo Monetary Zone
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Summary:In the 1960s, the escudo zone, comprising Portugal and its African colonies, countered the trend of European decolonization. The Portuguese state reorganized monetary relations in the empire-state with the help of a new legal framework. The aim of this imperial economic reorganization was to establish a balance of payment relations which was expected to facilitate Portugal’s economic modernization and the country’s association with liberalizing economies in Western Europe that were experiencing rapid economic growth. However, the escudo zone soon became dysfunctional. Mata explains why the designs of economy building in a Portuguese empire-state could not be realized, given the trend toward independent political and economic development in Lusophone Africa.
ISSN:0002-0206
1555-2462
DOI:10.1017/asr.2022.159