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The British Factory House ((ポルトガル語:Feitoria Inglesa)), also known as the ''British Association House'') is an 18th-century Neo-Palladian building located in the northern Portuguese center of Porto, associated with the influence of Britain in the Porto Wine industry. This building is part of a group of buildings and infrastructures that mark the British presence in the city of Porto, that include the Oporto Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club (founded 1855) and the Oporto British School (1894).〔 ==History== The building reflects the 600 year Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, and the importance of the city’s British community and its prominent role in the Port trade. The oldest British ''Factory'' in north of Portugal, the building dates to the 16th century, when the association was established in Viana do Castelo. The charter for the first Porto Factory House dates to 1727, where it was located along the ''Rua Nova dos Ingleses''. With the construction of the building occurring between 1785 and 1790,〔 the Club moved to its present location, by the Oporto docks. The Factory House is one of the last remaining that existed throughout the British, Portuguese and Dutch empires. The building’s construction was entirely financed from annual contributions made by British Port merchants that were based in the city. The purpose of the 17th-18th century ''factories'' (chiefly in trading seaports) was to provide a meeting place for foreign merchants, known as ''factors'', to conduct their business and to defend their interests. Conceived as a meeting place for British shippers to discuss business, the house became a private club for the British where they colluded to consolidate their monopoly over the manufacture and export of Port wine.〔H. Johnson (1989), p. 326〕 In 1806, the Portuguese government granted the land upon which the Factory House is built to the British consulate in perpetuity ''"....from this day and forever."''〔J. Robinson (2006), p.264〕 With their frequent meetings, the British shippers were able collude together on pricing and strengthened their monopoly over the Port wine trade. All business was conducted in absolute secrecy from the Portuguese.〔D. Birmingham (2003), p.93〕 Over time the Factory House became a symbol of the British monopoly. Complaints about the business practices of the British shippers, leading to the Portuguese Prime Minister Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquis of Pombal establishing the Douro Wine Company in 1756, to bring more Portuguese influence and control to the Port wine industry. Among the Douro Wine Company's powers was the ability to set pricing for what the British shippers had to pay the Portuguese wine growers of the Douro. The monopoly of the British Factors was essentially over. The British passed on their increased costs by adding them to the price of their Port. The local tavern owners reacted angrily to the price increase which lead to the so-called Tipplers' Riots that broke out on 23 February 1757. Riots broke out across the city, prompting Pombal to send 3,000 soldiers to squelch the rioting. Believing the Factors were primarily responsible for the riots, Pombal dealt out harsh punishments. Both the British and their sympathizers faced large fines, the confiscation of property and jail time. Some were banished to Africa and India,〔R. Hersh (2006)〕 while Pombal had 26 members of the Factory House executed.〔 During the Napoleonic Wars, the Factory House was temporarily closed when the French invaded Portugal in 1807. After the war, it was reopened on 11 November 1811, with a lavish dinner and ball.〔 Those families of British origin with the strongest ties to the Port trade over the last three centuries are closely linked to the history of the Factory House. The walls on either side of the imposing entrance hall, with its lofty vaulted ceiling supported by impressive granite columns, are decorated with large wooden plaques listing the names of all the Treasurers since 1811. Among these can be found some names still closely associated with the great Port Houses such as Cockburn, Croft, Delaforce, Fladgate, Forrester, Graham, Guimaraens, Robertson, Roope, Sandeman, Symington, Taylor and Warre. By 1814, the building turned into more of a private gentleman's club among the merchants. During the 19th century, the Factory House developed an air of exclusivity, holding formal balls for the British of Porto and excluding most of the Portuguese shippers who worked in the wine industry. While sometimes Portuguese dignitaries and government officials were invited, until the end of the 20th century there was an official decree of the Factory House that excluded any Portuguese military officer below the rank of Field Officer from attending.〔 Today, though membership is still officially limited to British-owned Port companies, there are now more Portuguese than British members of the Factory House due to the extensive integration of Portuguese workers into the corporate structure of many of the British Port shipping firms.〔 From the early 19th century the Porto Factory House began to serve as meeting-point and for social events. In 1811, the Factory adopted its present statutes, under the management of the surviving British Port Companies, through a body known as ''The British Association''. By 2014, 12 directors, representing the eight companies of the Association run the Factory House and promote the groups role objectives. The Factory’s ambassadorial role includes the promotion of Port wine, in addition to keeping alive the 200-year-old traditions of the Association. The Factory House building is still open and serves as a meeting house for British Port shippers. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Factory House」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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