As in most European countries, between the last decades of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Portugal was a country of emigration, with a high outflow of population leaving, especially to Brazil. The foreign community living in Lisbon, the country's capital, was not very significant, about 3% of the total number of inhabitants of the city. However, when we analyse the data on arrests and convictions for the practice of crime in Lisbon, between 1870 and 1910, around 10% concerned foreign citizens. Although there are several origins, the vast majority were Spanish, in particular men and women coming from Galicia, in Northern Spain. This fact gives rise to some descriptions of Lisbon as a receptacle for criminals fleeing from Spain who would seek to continue their illegal activities here under the cover of the anonymity they would enjoy here. In a newspaper of the time, it is written: "Lisbon is much visited by Spanish thieves, who by the way think this is an Eldorado. Generally, after being well known to the police in the cities of their country, they come to Lisbon, where any Spaniard can go unnoticed without arousing suspicion, since the Spanish colony is quite numerous among us". (Galeria dos Criminosos Célebres Portugueses, vol. IV, 1900, p. 16). The press also refers to the existence of transnational crime networks, particularly active in Spanish cities and in Lisbon, dedicated, among others, to pickpocketing. This paper aims to analyse the practices and representations of crime in Lisbon, in the last decades of the Constitutional Monarchy (1870-1910). The aim is to investigate the participation in crime of the foreign population that lived and worked in the city of Lisbon, as well as the existence of alleged transnational networks dedicated to the practice of petty crimes, in particular those that linked Portugal and Spain. Finally, we will try to analyse how this situation motivated a greater proximity and cooperation between several authorities in Portugal and Spain, in particular the judicial authorities and the police authorities.

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Crime,Lisbom,Police