The “ten cents sickle” and the “insurance fever”: social protest and political risk as business in Portugal (1910-1926)

ABSTRACT The increasing political violence after the beginning of the First Portuguese Republic in October 1910 and the state’s inability to maintain order found in the insurance industry a new form of protection against the risk of destruction and loss of property. Insurance against strikes and riots articulated an expanding industry with part of the bourgeoisie’s growing sense of insecurity. Through an analysis of national and international press, police reports and insurance companies’ correspondence, this article analyzes the introduction, diffusion and decline of insurance against strikes and riots in Portugal.