Supplying the Slave Trade During the Seville Consulate’s Asiento

ABSTRACT

Between 1676 and 1681, the Consulate of Seville took charge of the slave asiento, the contract with the Spanish Crown governing the rights to traffic enslaved people. It did so in an attempt to control smuggling and thereby defend Spanish interests in trade relations with Africa and America. The Consulate promoted direct trade with Africa to obtain slave labor in exchange for Spanish goods. This article analyzes these trips and the items that were exchanged, focusing on the origins of both the items and their suppliers. At the same time, it charts the evolution of this commercial traffic during these years and explains the causes of its failure and Dutch interference. Drawing on documents from the General Archive of the Indies, this article delves into the little-known trips between Spain and Africa at the beginning of the last quarter of the seventeenth century.

Keywords:
Africa; Slaves; Asiento; Trade; Slave Trade