Self-Sufficiency and Trade in Bracara Augusta During the Early Empire: A Contribution to the Economic Study of the City

The main goal of this monograph is the study of the trade of Bracara Augusta (modern Braga, northern Portugal) based on three factors: the history of the city; the trade and the means of transportation; the study of the goods which arrived here through the amphorae and other imported pottery materials. Chapter one presents a brief analysis of the economic geography of the region, taking in account the physical idiosyncrasies of the Minho region and of the city. Chapter two presents the antecedents of the city's foundation and contextualizes it in the scene of its foundation and late development. Chapter three deals with the subject of Bracara Augusta's trade in the global parameters of the empire and its role as a redistribution centre in the peninsular north-west. Chapter four is a comparative analysis of the rhythms and patterns of consumption in the city. We also present the values and the rates of the imported pottery and estimate the approximate annual average amount and its meaning for the economicand commercial life of the city.