This paper analyses the importance of mortgage credit for the growth of the coffee economy in the Paraíba valley region, using as documentary sources three mortgage books from the localities of Guaratinguetá and Lorena. The paper shows how the traditional credit practices gave way to banking ones after the mortgage law of 1864/65. Nevertheless, only a small percentage of the population benefited from the new form of financing, with the wealthier ones enjoying the best credit facilities.
