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Complaints and dissatisfaction with the business practices of the British made their way to the Portuguese government. Following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the Prime Minister of Portugal, the Marquis of Pombal, saw an opportunity to reestablish Portuguese control over the Port wine industry. The lucrative revenues from the Port wine trade were needed to rebuild the country in the aftermath of the earthquake and the Marquis sought out ways to interject more Portuguese influence over the process. His efforts lead to the founding of the Douro Wine Company and investing it with massive amounts of control, taking away the pricing leverage of the British shippers and reducing their role essentially to being "middlemen".