Le genre biographique comme histoire sociale : la famille Ferreira Gomes dans l’Atlantique sud du xixe siècle

Abstract

This article deals with the social and economic ties that underpinned the slave trade from Angola to Brazil as well as the rise of Portuguese abolitionism in the first half of the nineteenth century. To that end, the article investigates the personal trajectory of José Ferreira Gomes, a black man born in Benguela whose mother, Florinda Josefa Gaspar, was the daughter of an African chief in Catumbela and the father, Francisco Ferreira Gomes, was a black man born in Brazil and one of the most active slave dealers in Benguela. By focusing on Gomes junior’s career, the article sheds light on the social and cultural connections that Angolan slave dealers built with Brazil and African populations, the transition from the slave trade to legitimate commerce in Angola, and shifts in Portuguese policies towards shipments of slaves in Angola that took place in the 1840s. To further understand the rise of Portuguese colonialism in Angola, the article examines accusations that members of the Ferreira Gomes family led racial and anti-colonial sedition against the Portuguese.

Keywords

• Brazil
• Angola
• abolitionism
• atlantic history
• slavery
• biography