Politics, Commerce, and Colonization in Angola at the Turn of the Eighteenth Century John Whitney Harvey Dissertação em História Moderna e dos Descobrimentos Orientador: Professor Doutor Pedro Cardim Setembro, 2012 Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em História Moderna e dos Descobrimentos realizada sob a orientação científica do Professor Doutor Pedro Cardim e a coorientação científica do Professor Doutor Diogo Ramada Curto. I dedicate this dissertation to my father, Charles A. Harvey Jr. (1949-2009), whose wisdom, hard work, and dedication I strive to emulate. The last thing he knew about me was that I was going to study at FCSH, and I hope that I have made him proud. Acknowledgements There are so many people that were instrumental to the production of this dissertation that it would be impossible to include everyone in this space. I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone that supported me emotionally and academically throughout this year. Know that I know who you are, I appreciate everything done for me, and hope to return the support in the future. I would also like to thank the Center for Overseas History for the resources and opportunities afforded to me, as well as all of my professors and classmates that truly enriched my academic career throughout the last two years. There are some people whom without, this would not have been possible. The kindness, friendship, and support shown by Nuno and Luisa throughout this process I will never forget, and I am incredibly grateful and indebted to you both. My advisors, professors Pedro Cardim and Diogo Ramada Curto have left indelible impressions on the formation of my academic career as well as my character. This venue does not do justice to the immense gratitude that I wish to show for all of your time, effort, encouragement, support, and opportunities that you have given me. This has been an extremely rewarding experience, and what I learned from you I will be able to use for the rest of my life. The three most important women in my life, Catarina, Charlotte, and my mother Whitney are without doubt the people that most helped me through this fantastic adventure in more ways than I can express. I would like to give special mention to my mom Whitney who has been the single most influential and caring person throughout this year and my existence. I could not have done this without her. I love you all. As Políticas, O Comércio, e a Colonização em Angola na Viragem do Século XVIII John Whitney Harvey Resumo A presente dissertação analisa a colonização, as políticas, e o comércio na viragem do século XVIII. Estes tópicos serão apresentados através de três capítulos que assumem dimensões espaciais distintas: o sertão Angolano, o litoral, e a perspectiva Atlântica. Separar o trabalho em limites geográficos e conceptuais facilita a percepção das ligações entre eles, e permite compreender Angola como um agregado das três áreas espaciais e conceitos coloniais, interdependentes entre si. Construindo estas ligações cruciais, cria os meios pelos quais a forma como estes processos coloniais se transformaram pode ser identificada. O primeiro capítulo centra-se nas políticas e na colonização do sertão Angolano. Esta parte discute os métodos de colonização e introduz actores políticos e comerciais que serão relevantes aos próximos capítulos. O segundo capítulo explica a estrutura comercial Angolana no litoral, e a sua inerente vinculação ao sertão e as políticas do território. Os primeiros dois capítulos formam a fundação que permite a disquisição chegar à dimensão Atlântica pela introdução dos principais temas e personagens no capitulo final. Assim, o comércio dos escravos servirá para evidenciar a maneira como eventos que ocorreram em Angola e no Brasil se influenciaram mutuamente, e como acabaram por afetar o sertão, bem como os comerciantes do litoral de Angola. Um discurso envolvendo as ideologias da escravatura e a Atlantic History permite um conhecimento mais profundo do enquadramento do estudo do comércio de escravos, e como Angola foi afectada por eventos isolados que produziram processos de mudança. A tese que esta dissertação pretende provar é que as políticas, o comércio, e a colonização em Angola eram fortemente conectados por motivos económicos que instigaram um período de transformação na viragem do século XVIII. Palavras-Chave: Angola, Políticas, Comércio, Viragem do Século XVIII, Economia Politics, Commerce, and Colonization in Angola at the Turn of the Eighteenth Century John Whitney Harvey Abstract This dissertation explores Commerce, politics, and colonization in Angola at the turn of the eighteenth century. The work will discuss these topics through three main chapters that are spatially divided into the Angolan hinterland, the coastal region, and the Atlantic through the Angolan perspective. Separating the work into distinct geographical and conceptual boundaries makes it possible to discern the interconnectivity as well as the interdependency of Angola as an aggregate of the three geographical areas and Portuguese colonial forces. Making these important connections provides the means through which the way that these colonial processes transformed can be identified. The first chapter focuses on politics and colonization in the Angolan hinterland. It discusses methods of colonization and introduces political and commercial actors that are relevant in following chapters. The second chapter discusses the Angolan commercial structure on the coast, and its inherent connection to the hinterland and politics in the territory. The first two chapters set the stage through introducing major themes and characters that permit the disquisition to reach the Atlantic sphere in the final chapter. Here, the Angolan slave trade will serve to evince the manner in which events that occurred in Angola and in Brazil mutually impacted each other, and as a result, the hinterland and coastal merchants. This will be done through discussing the ideologies of slavery and Atlantic History that allow a deeper understanding of the parameters through which the slave trade can be studied as well as how Angola was deeply affected by isolated events that produced processes of change. The overarching thesis that this dissertation intends to prove is that politics, commerce, and colonization in Angola were intrinsically connected through economic motives that incited a period of transformation at the turn of the eighteenth century. Key Words: Angola, Politics, Commerce, Colonization, Turn of the Eighteenth Century, Economy Contents Introduction ……………………………………………………………………..1 Politics and Colonization in the Angolan Hinterland………………………….6 Colonization Methods and the Angolan Peoples……………………… 7 Militarization of the Angolan Hinterland……………………………...16 Politics and Colonization: Captain-Majors in the Interior…………...29 Conclusion……………………………………………………………….42 Commerce and the Angolan Coast ……………………………………………..46 Commercial Actors in Angola…………………………………………..47 The Angolan Monetary and Credit System……………………………54 Monopoly Contracts and Contractors…………………….…………....60 Commerce on the Loango Coast and British Opposition……………..70 Conclusion………………………………………………………………..77 The Slave Trade in Angola: The Atlantic Dimension…………………………80 The Angolan Slave Trade and Atlantic History……………………….80 The Angolan Slave Trade and Brazilian Gold………………………...96 Conclusion……………………………………………………………....107 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………....109 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….118 Appendix I……………………………………………………………………....124 Appendix II……………………………………………………………………...125 1 Introduction This thesis seeks to explore politics, commerce, and colonization at the turn of the eighteenth century in Angola. The method of analysis used to best understand the period in Angola is to divide the work into three chapters with distinct spatial and conceptual dimensions. The following discussion uses the Angolan hinterland, the coast, and the Atlantic as the three spatial reference points through which the methods of colonization, politics, and commerce can be explicated. The Angolan hinterland is to be understood as the districts along the Kwanza River, and in Benguela and the southern interior area. The Coast is comprised from South to North as Benguela, up through Luanda, the Kongo, and the Loango Coast. The Atlantic will be considered through the Angolan perspective. These dimensions are chosen because it is what contemporaries viewed as falling under Portuguese jurisdiction, as seen in documents consulted. The reason that the chapters are organized in this way is to show the interconnected nature of the themes examined. Once the interdependency is established, important trends that impacted the colonial, political, and commercial state of the Angolan territory are exposed. The history of Angola at the turn of the eighteenth century is comparatively understudied to other locations throughout the Portuguese empire, as well as to other periods of Angolan history. However, seminal works exist that provide crucial insight into the Portuguese political and commercial structures as well as into the African communities. These books are thematically important to the entirety of the thesis in order to strengthen the framework that comprises the present disquisition. Joseph Miller’s indispensible work Way of Death: Merchant Capitalism and the Angolan Slave Trade (1730-1830) is undoubtedly the most essential and voluminous project to date on this subject matter. Although its temporal scope