The Harpsichord and the Whales: The Trajectory of Francisco Peres de Sousa, Music Teacher and Businessman (ca. 1740-1782)

ABSTRACT During the Portuguese Old Regime, contracts of royal rights and tributes were an important instrument of government and a means of enrichment and social ascension for businessmen. The entry into the small circle of major contractors demanded not only the possibility of financial capital but also a solid social capital on both sides of the Atlantic. This work, based on several primary sources, examines the Francisco Peres de Sousa’s case, a music teacher at the Marquis of Pombal’s house, who managed to establish himself as a businessman and to participate in important gatherings from the second half of the eighteenth century. Peres de Sousa was both an official leader of certain enterprises and a partner of the company of Inácio Pedro Quintela, which dominated the whale fishing and the salt monopoly in Brazil for decades. Peres de Sousa stayed afloat in this market, albeit as a stooge to other characters, proves the importance of network relations and royal protection for contractors.

摘要
在葡萄牙旧制度时期，王室权利与贡赋承包契约是政府施政的重要工具，亦是商人实现财富积累与社会阶层跃升的核心途径。跻身大型承包商的核心圈层，不仅需要雄厚的金融资本支撑，还需在大西洋两岸构建坚实的社会资本网络。本研究依托多份原始史料，以弗朗西斯科·佩雷斯·德·苏萨（Francisco Peres de Sousa）的生平为研究案例：他曾担任庞巴尔侯爵（Marquis of Pombal）府邸的音乐教师，最终成功跻身商人行列，并于十八世纪下半叶活跃于各类重要社交与政商活动中。苏萨不仅担任过部分企业的官方负责人，同时也是伊纳西奥·佩德罗·金特利亚（Inácio Pedro Quintela）旗下公司的合伙人，该公司曾掌控巴西的捕鲸业与盐业垄断权长达数十年之久。尽管苏萨在该市场中始终以其他核心人物的附庸身份得以立足，这一案例恰恰印证了人脉关系与王室庇护对于承包商群体的重要意义。