The present book is a substantially revised translation of a book first published in Portugal (História Económica de Portugal 1143–2010, Lisbon: Esfera dos Livros, 2011) which was written following the suggestion of a publisher that identified a lacuna for an economic history of Portugal over the period since the foundation of the kingdom, in the twelfth century, to the present times. There are many valuable works that provide a global perspective either for shorter periods of Portuguese economic history, or for longer periods of its political and institutional history, but there certainly was room for a global economic history that covers a wide range of topics, from demographic and institutional developments to the measurement of economic growth and a more formal analysis of factors of growth and structural change. We gladly accepted the challenge because there is a large amount of research from which it is possible to draw a global perspective on the evolution of the Portuguese economy, within its European borders, and regarding its relations with Europe, the empire, and the rest of the world.

When we wrote the first version of the book, we had in mind an international audience, as we were well aware that the economic history of Portugal in the long run can be of interest for students on a wide variety of topics of international reach, such as the making of colonial empires, their consequences for domestic economies and, why economies grow or fall behind. The present English version of the book is the best demonstration of that wider interest in Portugal's economic development. Although we have not changed the manuscript in terms of its main structure, this edition is different from the first in many aspects. Not only have we benefited from recent findings that have clarified our interpretation on the evolution of the Portuguese economy in the long run but we have also stressed further the connections between national and international issues. We hope the international reader will be attracted to the study of this relatively small and peripheral country both because it was the center of an empire for many centuries and it highlights many other issues regarding international economic history.