THE POPULATION OF THE KINGDOM OF ANGOLA DURING THE SLAVE TRADE ERA: AN EXERCISE IN ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS (c. 1700-1850)

Abstract

The article discusses the dynamics of the population under Portuguese rule in the region called “Kingdom of Angola” by the colonial authorities through the eighteenth century up to the first half of the nineteenth century. We aim answer a simple question: the population under Portuguese rule would have increased or decreased in this period? In order to do so, we analyze and criticize a sizable number of population maps and other quantitative data such as tithes and the numeration of “sobas”. We find out that there are signs of growth, by the expansion of the Angola’s border during the eighteenth century and that between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth occurred a demographic collapse that appears to be linked to droughts and an increasing enslaving pressure.

Keywords:
Population - slave trade - Angola - Portuguese empire - population charts