Slave Trade from Brazil to Lisbon in the Mid-18th Century - An Analysis Based on Customs Records

• Grant number: 22/13084-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Economics
• Principal Investigator: Renato Leite Marcondes
• Grantee: Bernardo Mussolin Jazra
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto (FEARP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Slave labor of African origin was the victim of compulsory migration during the duration of the Atlantic Trade. Destined to the European colonies, the captives were widely used in the export productions from these countries. However, their presence is not restricted to colonial territories, being also taken to the metropolises of the European continent. In Europe, the demand for this workforce was mainly linked to domestic services. However, they were also destined for other activities within the cities, usually those heavier and rejected by free workers. In this context, we intend to investigate the flow of slaves between Colonial Brazil and Lisbon, the capital and administrative and mercantile center of Portugal, during the mid-eighteenth century. For this, data not yet explored in the literature will be used, collected from customs records of the time. Through these, information regarding both owners and captives can be collected, in order to trace some characteristics of this flow.