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“Corporate governance regulations”: A new term for an ancient concern? The case of Grão Pará and Maranhão General Trading Company in Portugal (1754)

2009; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 14; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/1032373209342475

1749-3374

Lúcia Lima Rodrigues, Álvaro Ricardino, Sofie Tortelboom Aversari Martins,

Corporate Finance and Governance

In 1754, Governor Francisco Xavier de Mendonça Furtado requested his brother, the Marquis of Pombal, obtain the King’s approval to establish a trading company in Brazil. The Governor sent his brother a draft of the proposed trading company’s by-laws. Its 27 paragraphs mimic the by-laws of the English East India Company and contain various provisions that may be described today as good “corporate governance regulations”. Later, the approved by-laws of the Grão Pará and Maranhão General Trading Company (GPM), as based on the draft prepared in Brazil and issued by Pombal in Portugal, were amended under the influence of the by-laws of the Dutch and French East India companies. This local, time-specific study of the by-laws of the Grão Pará and Maranhão General Trading Company is intended to contribute to the literature on the evolution of governance regulations, including the use of accounting and auditing mechanisms.