the european guild system, the powerful precursor to modern trade and labor unions, dates to medieval times, if not earlier. it was a social and cultural system, in which the methods of production were passed from generation to generation, ensuring the effective transfer of knowledge and preservation of standards in each industry.

in portugal, however, the guild system was not as developed as in the rest of the continent. the casa de 24, established in 1422, divided craftsmen into twenty four different associations, but by the time the portuguese crown had moved to rio de janeiro in the 1500s, the character of the guilds was a more spiritual than professional.