Dutch and Portuguese in Western Africa: Empires, Merchants and the Atlantic System, 1580-1674 (Atlantic World)

413 Pages·2011·2.68 MB·English

by  Filipa Ribeiro Da Silva

Dutch and Portuguese in Western Africa
Atlantic World
Europe, Africa and the Americas, 1500–1830
Edited by
Benjamin Schmidt
University of Washington
and
Wim Klooster
Clark University
VOLUME 22
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.nl/aw
Dutch and Portuguese in
Western Africa
Empires, Merchants and the
Atlantic System, 1580–1674
By
Filipa Ribeiro da Silva
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2011
Cover illustration: “View of Elmina”. National Archive (The Netherlands), Aanwinsten
Kaarten 4AANW, Inventory no. 1568.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Silva, Filipa Ribeiro da, 1974–
Dutch and Portuguese in western Africa : empires, merchants and the Atlantic
system, 1580–1674 / by Filipa Ribeiro da Silva.
p. cm. — (Atlantic world ; v. 22)
Thesis (doctoral)—Leiden, Universiteit, 2009.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-20151-4 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Africa, West—Discovery
and exploration—Portuguese. 2. Africa, West—Discovery and exploration—
Dutch. 3. Portuguese—Africa, West—History. 4. Dutch—Africa, West—History.
5. Netherlands—Colonies—Economic aspects—Africa. 6. Portugal—Colonies—
Economic aspects—Africa. 7. Africa, West—History—To 1884. I. Title. II. Series:
Atlantic world (Leiden, Netherlands) ; v. 22.
DT476.S55 2011
966.02—dc22
2011018366
ISSN 1570-0542
ISBN 978 90 04 20151 4
Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV
provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center,
222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
To my Parents with love and gratitude
and
in memory of Professor Jill Dias

CONTENTS
List of Diagrams, Graphs, Maps, and Tables ................................ xi
Acknowledgments .............................................................................. xv
List of Abbreviations ......................................................................... xvii
Glossary ............................................................................................... xix
Chapter One Introduction ............................................................ 1
1. Institutions ................................................................................ 7
2. Labor migration and colonial societies ................................ 8
3. Intra- and Inter-continental trade in, to and via
Western Africa .......................................................................... 10
4. Private investment, agency and networks ............................ 12
5. Source Material ......................................................................... 15
6. Structure .................................................................................... 17
PART I
BUILDING ATLANTIC EMPIRES:
THE DUTCH AND THE PORTUGUESE MODELS OF
SETTLEMENT IN WESTERN AFRICA
Chapter Two Building Institutions .............................................. 23
1. Administrative institutions ..................................................... 24
2. Military institutions ................................................................. 46
3. Judicial institutions .................................................................. 60
4. Commercial and fiscal institutions ....................................... 69
Chapter Three Sending People: Labor Migration and Forced
Labor ................................................................................................ 97
1. European migrants ................................................................... 98
1.1. Free migrants .................................................................... 98
1.2. Forced migrants ............................................................... 115
2. Forced African migrants: Enslaved and manumitted
Africans ...................................................................................... 118
viii contents
3. Locally recruited personnel .................................................... 126
3.1. Free Africans .................................................................... 126
3.2. Mixed descent workers and European settlers ........... 127
4. European labor markets and Western Africa ..................... 130
5. Policies of settlement and Western Africa .......................... 135
Chapter Four Shaping Colonial Societies ................................... 139
1. Europeans .................................................................................. 141
2. Africans ...................................................................................... 147
2.1. Enslaved and manumitted Africans ............................. 148
2.2. Free Africans .................................................................... 151
3. Mixed descent population ...................................................... 155
4. Impact of social organization in the building of the
Atlantic empires ....................................................................... 159
PART II
WESTERN AFRICA IN THE DUTCH AND THE PORTUGUESE
ATLANTIC ECONOMIES
The concept of ‘Atlantic System’ and the Study of Interactions
between States, Companies and Private Merchants ................ 163
Chapter Five Sailing in African Waters: Coastal Areas and
Hinterland ...................................................................................... 169
1. Routes ......................................................................................... 169
2. Coastal trade, inter-racial relationships and settlement .... 192
3. Trading practices ...................................................................... 198
4. Western African supply markets ........................................... 202
5. Western African consumption markets ............................... 207
Chapter Six Struggling for the Atlantic: The Inter-Continental
Trade ................................................................................................ 213
1. Routes ......................................................................................... 214
2. Shipping ..................................................................................... 231
3. Supply markets ......................................................................... 243
4. Products and Enslaved Africans ............................................ 247
4.1. Gold .................................................................................... 247
4.2. Enslaved Africans ............................................................ 250
contents ix
5. Consumption markets ............................................................. 254
6. Integration of markets ............................................................. 261
Chapter Seven Doing Business with Western Africa: Private
Investors, Agency and Commercial Networks ......................... 271
1. European entrepreneurs .......................................................... 273
2. European businessmen ............................................................ 279
3. Agents ........................................................................................ 295
4. Trans-imperial networks ......................................................... 306
5. Cross-cultural interactions ..................................................... 317
Conclusion New Insights on Dutch-Portuguese Rivalries in
the Atlantic ..................................................................................... 325
Bibliography ........................................................................................ 335
1. Primary sources ........................................................................ 335
2. Published sources ..................................................................... 335
3. Secondary literature ................................................................. 337
Index .................................................................................................... 373