Many economists had studied the decline of Portugal and Spain, including Adam Smith.
In 1386, Portugal and Britain signed an agreement in Windsor to form an alliance. Later, in 1703, they signed the Anglo-Portuguese Methuen Treaty in Lisbon, named after Methuen, the British envoy to Portugal.
Besides affirming the military and political alliance between the two countries, the treaty also reached trade agreements. Portugal allowed British wool and woolen goods to enter, while Portuguese wine received tariff concessions when entering Britain. The treaty revived Portugal's declining Douro River wine region and promoted Portuguese agriculture, but the large influx of British industrial goods also crippled Portuguese industry, leaving Portugal almost reduced to a British colony and increasingly dependent on Britain.
Especially after Britain's wine market became saturated, British merchants began controlling vineyard owners and constantly driving down purchase prices. In short, signing a trade agreement with Britain meant suffering enormous losses. This was also why Napoleon had never signed any trade agreement with Britain after the Treaty of Amiens.
Georgiana had to admit that Bonaparte truly understood her sometimes. Knowing that she would investigate anything she questioned, he had long since had his librarian prepare the relevant materials for her.
Port wine brewed in Porto held a special place in Britain. The British military, especially the navy, drank Port, and even the wine William Pitt the Younger used to treat his illness was produced in Portugal. Yet the retailers and producers of Portuguese red wine were all British; Portugal was merely the source of raw materials. Britain did not grow grapes because of its climate, and even when it barely managed to cultivate them, the costs were far higher than in continental countries like France. But the British loved drinking, which ultimately meant imports were needed to meet domestic demand.
Among