'The justices of the peace are all tieves': Public authorities and the Slave Trade in the Province of Bahia (c.1831 - c.1841)

Abstract

The present article analyzes the involvement of public authorities in the slave trade in the context of the implementation of the 1831 law that prohibited the trade of Africans to Brazil. Judges, prosecutors and other agents not only covered up the traffic but also benefited from their positions to conduct business in the new landing and distribution routes for newly-arrived Africans in the interior of the province of Bahia. These authorities played a key role in the continuity of slave trade.