ENTRE ESCRITURAS E PROCURAÇÕES

COMERCIANTES DE ESCRAVIZADOS NA FREGUESIA DA SÉ EM SALVADOR NA SEGUNDA METADE DO SÉCULO XIX

Abstract

This article analyzes the activities of slave traders in Salvador, focusing on the parish of Sé in the second half of the 19th century. The primary sources include 643 deeds of sale from the Sé Notary’s Office, recorded between 1852 and 1880, organized into a database. Civil lawsuits, inventories, periodicals, and a database with 3,887 enslaved person passport records were also consulted. This research sheds light on aspects of the activities of local merchants, especially focusing on the trader José Leopoldo de Mello, who established an extensive commercial network involving credit transactions and the buying and selling of enslaved individuals. It was found that the slave trade in Sé primarily catered to local demands but maintained a strong connection with inter- and intra-provincial trafficking.