Merchants and the Business of the Slave Trade at Benguela, 1750-1850
2007; University of Wisconsin–Madison; Volume: 35; Issue: 35 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2163-9108
Autores Tópico(s)Global Maritime and Colonial Histories
ResumoFrom its foundation in 1617, Benguela emerged into a significant coastal town in West Central Africa because of its valuable resources, including copper, ivory, and, most important of all, slaves.1 Indeed, after Manoel Cerveira Pereira founded the port town, it slowly became a critical gateway for the export of slaves from the heavily populated highlands of central Angola.2 Benguela was a necessary stop on the route between Lisbon and Luanda, the main Portuguese commercial entrepot on the West Central African coast. Despite the fact that Benguela was almost 700 kilometers south of Luanda, winds and ocean currents in the South Atlantic forced ship captains to sail south before reaching Luanda. The bay was well located for sailors in search of water and food, not to mention the need to repair damaged vessels, before heading north to Luanda, Ambriz or Cabinda. Although at first the Portuguese stayed close to the coast, eventually fortresses were established inland from Benguela, most notably at Caconda.3The earliest slave shipments from Benguela were destined for Luanda. But after 1716, slaves were sent directly from Benguela to the Americas, usually Brazil. As a result, slavery became a way of life in the town, attracting greedy individuals interested in profiting from the commerce in human beings. Within a short time Benguela became a major slaving port.4 Its merchants were able to supply substantial numbers of slaves from the interior into the Atlantic economy. Infamous for its unhealthy environment, Benguela remained a comparatively small town nonetheless, with a population rarely exceeding 3,000 people, as was enumerated in various censuses dating from the end of the eighteenth century. Even then, the population of the town was maintained only through the influx of people from the interior via caravans and from Brazil and Portugal via the sea. Despite its relatively small size, there was a continuous interaction among different people, both local and foreign.Local traders were co-opted into a system of credit and commerce that required adaptation to the demands of the Atlantic trade. While local authorities were technically subordinate to the governor in Luanda, physical distance, the absence of a strong military presence, and the difficulty of transportation enabled individuals to trade at Benguela without serious threat of interference from Luanda.3 Foreign merchants introduced textiles, beads, and other commodities that were used to purchase slaves in the interior. Benguela offered traders the possibility to operate beyond the influence and supervision of the Portuguese administration.6 As a result, the slave trade led to a great deal of social interaction among different peoples, some of which resulted in the intermarriage and cohabitation of European men with African womenThis article examines the process by which Benguela emerged as an important port of slave embarkation in West Central Africa. It explores how the trade functioned in a region that was characterized by insecurity, stressing the role of traders and their links to other Atlantic ports. Foreign and local traders were instrumental in the commercialization of captives to supply the transatlantic slave trade, in the distribution of imported goods to the interior, and the purchase of much needed foodstuffs. This essay also highlights the involvement of the government, Portuguese authorities, and church officials in the slave trade. The scope of this study covers the period when the slave trade from Benguela was at its height; from the 1750s, when reforms in trade regulations enacted in Portugal led to a significant increase in the volume of slaves exported from Benguela, to 1850, when the Brazilian government finally abolished the importation of slaves and thereby forced merchants in Benguela to end their slave export trade. While official correspondence and legislation do not provide much information on the actions of traders, nominal lists, wills and inventories, fiscal registers, ship licenses, and diaries that are to be found in archives in Angola, Brazil, and Portugal help to uncover how the business of the slave trade operated and allow comparison with other African slaving ports. …
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