摘要：This paper seeks to provide an interpretive overview of the information contained in the database constructed as part of a research project dedicated to the study of economic and financial debates in the Portuguese parliament, during the period of the constitutional monarchy.1 The database is composed of 5355 records of debates that were held in the Chamber of Deputies of the Portuguese parliament between 1821 and 1910. When considered as a whole, these debates help us to form a precise idea about the situations, problems and vicissitudes that the Portuguese economy and public finances passed through in the course of the period under analysis: from the Liberal Revolution of 1820 until the implantation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910. The summary that is now being made does not focus on any one specific theme, period or speaker, for these are matters that will have to be taken up by those using this database in order to study the debates as a source for interpreting the vast range of subjects that came under discussion in parliament. By making this research tool available to all those interested in its use, we are seeking to make a contribution towards the recognition and enhancement of an important historical source that allows us to deepen our knowledge not only about the way in which parliament functioned at that time, but also about the way in which the affairs of public life were dealt with in Portugal, in this particular case in relation to economic and financial matters. The purpose of presenting this summary is precisely that of highlighting the heuristic potentialities of the information that has been gathered together and systematized through a computer program easily accessed at http://cisep.iseg.utl.pt/dpef/.
