This book traces the history and development of the port of Benguela, the third largest port of slave embarkation on the coast of Africa, from the early seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Benguela, located on the central coast of present-day Angola, was founded by the Portuguese in the early seventeenth century. In discussing the impact of the transatlantic slave trade on African societies, Mariana P. Candido explores the formation of new elites, the collapse of old states and the emergence of new states. Placing Benguela in an Atlantic perspective, this study shows how events in the Caribbean and Brazil affected social and political changes on the African coast. This book emphasizes the importance of the South Atlantic as a space for the circulation of people, ideas and crops.

'Mariana Candido has written a major study of a slaving port and its linkages both to the South Atlantic system and to its hinterland. She makes a powerful argument about the way the slave trade shaped not only the development of Benguela but also African societies in its hinterland. She also makes an important argument on the role of female entrepreneurs in that process.'

Martin Klein - University of Toronto

'Mariana Candido’s splendidly well-researched study of the Benguela slave trade is a major advance in our understanding of the history of Benguela, Angola’s ‘other’ slaving port. It not only illuminates the history of the Portuguese presence in Angola but also helps to anchor the politics and history of the independent states of the Central Highlands of Angola in their regional context. It will be a starting point for studies of the region for years to come.'

John Thornton - Boston University

'… provides valuable information about transatlantic trading networks and about the ethnic identity of enslaved Africans sent to Brazil.'

Source: International Journal of Maritime History