Slavery in Portugal

Slavery in Portugal existed since before the country's formation. During the pre-independence period, inhabitants of the current Portuguese territory were often enslaved and enslaved others. After independence, during the existence of the Kingdom of Portugal, the country played a leading role in the Atlantic slave trade, which involved the mass trade and transportation of slaves from Africa and other parts of the world to the Americas. The import of black slaves was banned in European Portugal in 1761 by the Marquis of Pombal, and at the same time, the trade of black slaves to Brazil was encouraged, with the support and direct involvement of the Marquis.[1][2] Slavery in Portugal was only abolished in 1869.[3][4]

The Atlantic slave trade began circa 1336 or 1341, [5][6][7][8] when Portuguese traders brought the first canarian slaves to Europe.[9] In 1526, Portuguese mariners carried the first shipload of African slaves to Brazil in the Americas, establishing the triangular Atlantic slave trade.

  1. ^ Caldeira, Arlindo Manuel (2013). Escravos e Traficantes no Império Português: O comércio negreiro português no Atlântico durante os séculos XV a XIX (in Portuguese). A Esfera dos Livros. pp. 219–224.
  2. ^ Boxer, Charles R. (1977). The Portuguese seaborne empire, 1415-1825. London: Hutchinson. pp. 177–180. ISBN 978-0-09-131071-4.
  3. ^ "Slavevoyages.org: Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade – Estimates". Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  4. ^ Evans, David (2014). "The Chocolate Makers and the "Abyss of Hell"". British Historical Society of Portugal Annual Report. 41.
  5. ^ Butel, Paul (1999). The Atlantic. Taylor & Francis. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-203-01044-0. Archived from the original on 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  6. ^ Perez-Camacho, Jonas (2019). Guanches : Legend and reality (5th ed.). Weston. p. 82. ISBN 84-616-1089-X.
  7. ^ Diffie (1963). Prelude to Empire: Portugal Overseas Before Henry the Navigator. University of Nebraska Press. p. 58.
  8. ^ Thornton, John (1998). Africa and Africans in the making of the Atlantic world, 1400-1800 (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 28–29.
  9. ^ Disney, Anthony R. (2009). A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire From Beginnings to 1807 Volume 2: The Portuguese Empire. Cambridge University Press. pp. 99–100.