The Internationalization of Portuguese Historiography: The View from Economic History

History is by nature an international topic. If it is written within national boundaries, it is because sources are mostly of a national kind or because of language barriers and political interests. Consequently, the internationalization of historical research is a natural movement to overcome constraints imposed by sources, language and politics. This view necessarily applies to economic history. In fact, this discipline is mainly about understanding economic growth and backwardness, which are by definition concepts of an international kind as they derive from comparisons of levels of development across boundaries. Moreover, topics in economic history that do not refer directly to growth – such as financial or institutional history – also need to take economic growth into account, as it embodies the dynamic of historical analysis.