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THE BRAZILWOOD BUSINESS, THE MERCANTILE SOCIETY PURRY, MELLISH AND DEVISME AND THE GLOBAL DYE MARKET: MERCANTILE SCALES, INSTITUTIONS AND OVERSEAS AGENTS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

Abstract

This article analyzes the practices and merchant institutions related to the brazilwood trade extracted from the forests of the north of the state of Brazil and destined for the dye market in Portugal and the rest of Europe in the 18th century. From the customs documentation of the House of India, in addition to the proprietary documentation of the Purry, Mellish and Devisme merchants, we demonstrate the dimensions and mercantile scales, their contracts, negotiations and institutions, which have modulated everything from the extractive practices in the Brazilian forests to the dispatch in the port of Recife until the later re-export via Lisbon to the dye market in northern Europe during the eighteenth century.

Keywords:
Brazilwood; merchant institutions - overseas merchants - dyes - Purry, Mellish and Devisme

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