“NEGÓCIOS DE CORTE”: THE BUSINESSMEN IN RIO DE JANEIRO SQUARE, THE TRAFFIC OF SLAVE PEOPLE AND THE SUBSIDIES FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE KINGDOM, C.1808-C.1821

Abstract

The aim of the paper was to analyze the participation of Rio de Janeiro’s wholesale traders and slave traders in the “ Donativos gratuitos, para as urgencias do Estado desde 31 de março até 18 de abril de 1817”, and the relationship of reciprocity between the Court and the mercantile class, particularly involving the defense of the interests of slave traders with the Convention of 1817, known as the Additional Convention to the Treaty of 22 January 1815, signed between King John VI of the United Kingdom Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves and George III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Victorious in their action, the wholesale traders and slave traders organized the “Praça do Comércio do Rio de Janeiro”, a space of sociability, representation, and power, in 1820, with the sponsorship of the Court and financing of Banco do Brasil, and with D. João VI as patron

Keywords:
Wholesale Traders; slave trade; Trade Square; Ancien Régime; Rio de Janeiro