Um Banco na Misericórdia de Viana do Castelo

on the second half of the XIX century, the Portuguese governments believed that the development of the kingdom required the widening of the credit to agriculture and the fostering of communications and education. In 1866 and 1867, to achieve the first of those requirements, the government published two laws that allowed charity institutions like the Misericórdias to use their assets in order to create rural and industrial banks. In Viana do Castelo, the local Misericórdia took advantage of that law and created the Banco Agrícola e Industrial Vianense.