The suppression of the slave trade and slave departures from Angola, 1830s-1860s

Authors

  • Roquinaldo Ferreira Department of History, University of Virginia

Abstract

Th is article deals with the process of abolishing the transatlantic slave trade in Angola in the fi rst half of the nineteenth century. It breaks down the Angolan slave trade into three macro-regions: Luanda, Benguela, and “northern Angola” (Cabinda and Ambriz). It argues that in order to understand the impact of abolitionism on the ground, scholars need to take into account local conditions, such as the supply of slaves to the coast, the participation of local elites in the business of slaving, and Angola’s close ties to Brazil. Th e article demonstrates that abolitionism policies only became eff ective with the participation of Portugal in the 1840s and the naval operations that ended shipments of slaves from Luanda, the largest slave port in Angola. Th is development signifi cantly increased risks associated with the Angolan slave trade and provided further momentum to the process of spread of shipments of slaves to other parts of the Angolan coast.


Key words: Angola, Slave Trade, Abolitionism, Atlantic.

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Published

2011-05-04

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2011): January/April

Section

Dossiê: Escravidão e experiências atlânticas

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