In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

The Independence War in Bahia sent shocks along the fault lines of Salvador’s society, causing undeniable upheaval. Had it continued for years, the result might well have been a radically reshaped social order, but it lasted long enough for underlying tensions to surface. No one could fail to notice the precarious position of those at the top. Authority no longer remained openly unquestioned, and those with wealth and political power proved unable to fulfill their paternalistic role. Working people took on unprecedented roles. Slaves glimpsed possible freedom, and certainly gained leverage. The war ended before the old ways collapsed, but its effects were deeply felt. Victory depended not on generals or viscounts, but on common people—especially on the boatmen who had always transported manioc meal to Salvador and on the choices they now made. Although the consequences were international and broad, the dispute was intensely local and particular, depending on the actions of people too often overlooked in previous accounts. disruption The sheer weight of physical dislocation and the general upset of war led to altered perceptions of others and oneself. No one escaped the war’s disturbance. Those involved in the food trade were the most directly engaged in the siege and can be considered here, group by group. Most large Portuguese merchants of Salvador had an ambivalent relationship with officer Madeira, torn between their business interests and loyalty toward the Crown. They supported Madeira’s initial effort to defeat the Brazilians and enthusiastically welcomed the idea of reimposing a monopoly of colonial trade in their hands. Chapter 9 a tremor in the social order Graham-final.indb 156 Graham-final.indb 156 6/30/10 10:33:00 AM 6/30/10 10:33:00 AM a tremor in the social order 157 At the beginning of the struggle they provided abundant foodstuffs to the Portuguese troops. Even near the end, and on the same day Madeira declared martial law in May 1823, thirty-three merchants, all of them Portuguese, gathered to advise him on raising funds, replacing the previous treasury office. Seven of them were among the twenty largest import merchants in Salvador as measured by their customs payments. Six more were major slave traders, and one other expected a brigantine to arrive from Mozambique at that very time. Another supplied 762 pounds of sugar to the Santa Casa de Misericórdia in one month during 1821. Two others had direct connections to the internal food business: one owned two smacks and a number of slave sailors and had earlier lent money to manioc farmers in Nazaré. Another owned a large boat and lent money to a female street vendor. I assume the remaining seventeen were of the same general sort.1 Yet Madeira expressed disappointment regarding the efficacy of this body and the loyalty of Portuguese merchants and store owners, later complaining that “the greater part” of the Portuguese-born had “nothing more in sight than their private interests.” Scores had left for Portugal long before the final evacuation of the city by the troops in 1823. A local biweekly paper reported in late 1822 that “capitalists have sent much money to Lisbon. With departing ships go many emigrants whose lack is felt and whose wealth is taken out of commerce .” On one ship alone had gone 270 contos in cash, nearly seven times the entire estate of Ana de São José da Trindade. But other Portuguese merchants, said a navy man—creditors of people in the hinterland or with “other ties that bind them to the land,” perhaps concubines and children—“resolved to follow the fate of the province come what may.” These hunkered down and waited.2 Joaquim José de Oliveira portrays the ambivalence felt by those at the peak of the Portuguese merchant community. Born in Portugal, he was among the thirty-three individuals summoned by Madeira to oversee fundraising for the cause, but when Madeira left Brazil, he stayed behind. What were his interests? Four years earlier he had taken out a license for his boat and owned seven sailor-slaves when he died in 1831, indicating his probable involvement in the food trade. He owned an enormous list of properties, among them a casa nobre, or virtual palace, in which he lived. Besides his coastwise shipping business, he was a builder, constructing a series of identical houses all lined up near his own mansion. His slaves included two quarrymen, four stonemasons, and three carpenters. He lent money to...

Share