Welcome to the exhibition
The Banco de Lisboa was established by Royal Charter on 31 December 1821. Its establishment was encouraged and decided by the Constituent Assembly of 1821-22, convened following the military uprisings of 1820 (on 24 August in Porto and 15 September in Lisbon) that marked the start of the Portuguese Liberal Revolution.
The bicentennial celebration of these key moments in building a modern constitutional monarchy is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the events, characters and institutions that best characterise a highly dynamic historical period. The establishment of the Banco de Lisboa was a crucial part of a process of institutional change and innovation that shook the economic, social and political foundations of the Ancient Regime. It arose from the need to reorganise the currency in circulation and meet the State’s commitments to private creditors. “Liberal regenerators” considered these issues to be a priority in order to restore public credit and promote trust between civil society and the bodies representing the legislative, executive and judicial powers.
Given the significance of the reasons for its establishment, let us revisit the history of the Banco de Lisboa, linking it to that of the Portuguese liberal revolution that began in August and September 1820. Bearing that in mind, this virtual exhibition invites visitors to explore six thematic areas on the history of the Banco de Lisboa and its underlying economic and political context, to understand the day-to-day activities of this institution through the collection of the Historical Archive of the Banco de Portugal, as well as the Library of the Banco de Portugal and the Money Museum.
Project team
Coordination
Baltasar Cordeiro
Filipe Fernandes
Editing and content management
Administration Services Department - Historical Archive of Banco de Portugal
Volodymyr Mykhayliv
Pedro Dantas
Text production
José Luís Cardoso
João Pedro Vieira
Filipe Fernandes
Translations
International Relations Department
Joana Rocha de Lima
Viviane Henriques
Technical administration
Information Systems and Technology Department
Isabel Coutinho
David Gonçalves
Eduardo Dias
Conceptual support
Communication and Museum Department
Luís Campos
Webdesign and development
BY - Interactive Brands Agency