The Quest for Gold: Monetary Debates in Nineteenth-century Brazil

ABSTRACT The paper examines some aspects of the monetary controversies which took place in several countries during the nineteenth century. In Brazil advocates of the gold standard and monetary restraint, known as metalistas, prevailed over papelistas, whose major desire was monetary expansion and credit creation. It will be argued that previous treatments of monetary debates in nineteenth-century Brazil have overlooked a crucial point, namely, the defence (or otherwise) of convertibility of the mil-réis. This has led to erroneous interpretations of the ideology underlying monetary management in the period.