Paper short abstract:

The present paper aims to study the Mozambican slave traders regarding their social and familial histories with the purpose of understanding how they acquired and used commercial knowledge in the early 19th century.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years, important contributions have been made to improve our knowledge on slave-traffic in the East African coast between the 18th and 19th centuries. Slave traders that settled in Mozambique Island have been studied regarding especially their commercial activities. It is known, for instance, that at that period slave-traders arrived to the island coming from different parts of the globe, and that there were also Africans amongst them. However, little is known, about their lives in Mozambique Island, being it either about their family and social histories or how they applied their know-how on African societies, and African trade in their own commercial activities.

This paper seeks to broaden our knowledge on the slave traders of Mozambique Island, which included Portuguese, Indians and Swahili. In order to do so, I will draw on José Capela's work, namely on his Slave Trade Dictionary, and cross it with a set of diversified primary sources, such as population censuses and memoirs, which will allow me to identify and characterize the Mozambican slave traders, their families and their links to the local society. In the end, it will be possible to understand how these slave traders acquired and used their commercial knowledge in the early 19th century.