In some way, the origin of buying groups goes back to the dawn of the Brazilian economy. There was no market in colonial Brazil. The birth of the Brazilian market dates back to 1808, with the arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family in Rio de Janeiro and the liberation of trade—the opening of ports to friendly nations—in the former colony, which was elevated to the status of a United Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves (by the publication of the 1808 Charter). With the opening of ports, shipping companies, insurance companies, banks, and then, at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the organization of the first trade unions, associations of suppliers who wanted to increase their bargaining power, due to the precarious working conditions to which they were subjected by corporations and monopolies. This introduction, although beyond the proposed timeframe, demonstrates how young the Brazilian market is and explains much of the prominence of buying groups.