Business and politics in the Atlantic in the mid-nineteenth: the role of the consuls of Portugal in the ports of Recife and Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Between 1826 and 1862, three men from the same family, the Moreira, were consuls of Portugal in Recife and Rio de Janeiro, articulating diverse businesses across the Atlantic and providing services of a varied nature. In this work, I study the disputes in which they were involved and the different roles they assumed. It is clear how they took care of political relationships; in Brazil, they had direct access to the regent and ministers, in addition to the royal family. While traffickers who lined up the gears of illegal trade, they negotiated fees with the Brazilian government, seeking advantages for the dealers in Porto and Lisbon. At the request of the Portuguese government, they intermediated from Brazil, the flow of poor workers between Madeira Island, the Azores and the fields of agricultural expansion fronts in Angola. They acted in promoting mass immigration of poor portugueses to Brazil. They had an influence in Angola. Consuls Moreira’s actions were permeated by conflicts; this dispute involved the editing of leaflets, the organization of subscriptions; even a biography was edited to defend the name of João Moreira. Thus, in addition to the official correspondence, there are several sources available for analyzing the role of consuls in the articulation of business between Brazil, Portugal and Angola. Even though there were many accusations of the Moreira’s illegal actions, they were kept in the Portuguese diplomatic representation for decades.