A Society Seen Through Its Mortgages: Campinas, 1865-1874

Abstract

The article aims at analyzing credit based on notarial deeds on loans, pledged by public mortgage, in the county of Campinas, Province of São Paulo, from 1865 to 1874. The analysis concentrates on the mortgage market: values of the loans, interest rates, terms, and real property collaterals offered by the debtors to the creditors. The information is based on the general mortgage register - Book n. 2 – denominated ‘Inscripção Especial de Hipotecas’. We have complemented the nominal analysis of creditors and debtors with information from other primary sources, such as almanacs, wills, post mortem inventories, in order to clarify the origins and destination of the loans.