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Hispanic American Historical Review 81.3-4 (2001) 733-738



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A New Interpretation of Contraband Trade

Ernst Pijning


Under the pressure of a Napoleonic invasion in 1807, the Portuguese court took the unprecedented step of moving from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. With this transfer, a European country was ruled from its overseas colony for the first time. Upon arrival in 1808, one of the first measures of the Prince Regent was to open all Brazilian ports to direct trade from Europe, without first having to pass through the now occupied port of Lisbon. As a result, the political and economic heart of the Portuguese empire moved to Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon lost its monopolistic position as an intermediary in the Brazil trade.

In the November 2000 issue of the HAHR, Portuguese historian Jorge M. Pedreira and Brazilian historian José Jobson de Andrade Arruda debated anew their differences concerning the meaning of this transfer. 1 Both relied heavily on the balances of trade between Brazil and Portugal to gather data, but they arrived at opposite conclusions: Pedreira argues that there was a continuity in Luso-Brazilian trading relations, but Arruda stresses a breach. Part of their debate disputes the existence of illegal trade in Brazilian waters, and both authors have found inspiration in my dissertation for their lines of argument. 2

Both Arruda and Pedreira rely heavily on quantitative material, that is, [End Page 733] statistical data. My dissertation, however, demonstrates the significance of a qualitative approach to illegal trade, especially through the analysis of local reports. 3 My research not only showed "how much" illegal trade took place but also "how" contrabandists traded. Thus, in my opinion, the debate should focus more on the nature of authority over commercial transactions, not on the quantity of contraband goods. The authority of colonial administrators to regulate illegal trade is a vital indicator of the motherland's grip on its colony.

To comprehend the concept of authority over illegal commerce, it is essential to understand the meaning of the term "contraband trade" and the circumstances under which it took place. "Contraband" literally means against the law (contra = against; bando = law). 4 Contraband trade thus encompassed all illegal commercial activities, including trading with foreigners, trade in forbidden goods, or underpayment of taxes on goods. Yet some forms of contraband trade were more illegal than others. Because illegal trade was inevitable in some commodities, it was less likely to be condemned by the colonial administrators. It is therefore not enough to measure illegal trade; we need to understand who had control over these transactions. Thus we need to examine the local circumstances in Rio de Janeiro and its environs more closely.

Rio de Janeiro had become the major Brazilian port of transit by the end of the eighteenth century. Carioca merchants conducted trade with Africa, Asia, Europe, Rio de la Plata, and gold mining districts in the Brazilian interior. Trading connections between Portugal and Brazil were frequent and uninterrupted. Unlike Spanish fleets to the Americas, Portuguese fleets were annual and they arrived and departed from Rio de Janeiro within a predictable framework. 5 Trade adequately met the demand for foreign goods, so insufficiency [End Page 734] of European products was not a reason for contraband trade. Illegal trade took place because it was lucrative. Given these local circumstances, it was unlikely that the amount of illegal trade ever surpassed legal commercial transactions in colonial Rio de Janeiro.

For most of the eighteenth century both legal and illegal trade was regulated or condoned by the king's servants. Contraband trade in foreign goods took place in various spheres of control, depending on the degree of authority administrators had over commercial transactions. However, once illegal trade took place outside of the realm of an official's jurisdiction, it was proscribed and the contrabandists could be arrested. One such example was the gold trade. In the most severe cases, foreign vessels anchored in a small port outside the confines of Rio de Janeiro's jurisdiction and exchanged untaxed gold dust for European products. In such cases, neither...

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