Methuen Treaty Brazilian economist Celso Furtado, in his work "Brazilian Economic Foundation". At the start of the War of Spanish Succession Portugal was allied with France. As part of this treaty the French had guaranteed the Portuguese naval protection. In 1702, the English navy sailed close to Lisbon on the way to and from Cadiz, proving to the Portuguese that the French could not keep their promise. They soon began negotiations with the Grand Alliance about switching sides. There were actually two Methuen Treaties. Both were negotiated for England in Lisbon by John Methuen ( 1650–1706), who served as a member of
Treaty of Madrid (5 October 1750) Treaty of Madrid (5 October 1750) The Treaty of Madrid was a commercial treaty signed between Britain and Spain on 5 October 1750. It followed the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which had brought a close to the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, and resolved lingering Spanish concerns about the Asiento contract. The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 had given Britain a thirty-year asiento, or contract-right, to supply an unlimited number of slaves to the Spanish colonies, and 500 tons of goods per year. This provided British traders and smugglers potential inroads into the (traditionally) closed markets in Spanish America.