Citation

Viotti AC. Hist. Cienc. Saude Manguinhos 2016; 23(4): 1169-1189.

Vernacular Title

As proposições de Antonio de Saldanha da Gama para a melhoria do tráfico de escravos, “por questões humanitárias e econômicas”, Rio de Janeiro, 1810.

Affiliation

Historiógrafa, Centro de Documentação e Apoio à Pesquisa Histórica/Departamento de História/Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp); doutoranda, Programa de Pós-graduação em História/Unesp. Avenida Eufrásia Monteiro Petráglia, 900 14409-160 - Franca - SP - Brasil. anacarolina@franca.unesp.br.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz)

DOI

10.1590/S0104-59702016000400007

PMID

27992053

Abstract

In 1808, Dom João VI issued an edict which regulated the shipping and treatment of slaves on the transatlantic crossing from Africa. Two years later, Antonio de Saldanha da Gama, a member of the Treasury Council, drafted a letter discussing some points of the resolution. This key figure in the Portuguese administration of Brazil argued that his respectful considerations concerning the determinations of His Royal Highness were designed to improve them "for humanitarian and economic reasons." Safeguarded in the archives of Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, this letter is transcribed, annotated, and contextualized here, supplying an interesting perspective on the prevailing concerns and justifications about the trafficking of African slaves to Brazil.

Language: pt