Appointment of a commissioner for the suppression of the slave trade on the African west coast

Amaral, José Rodrigues Coelho do, Portuguese Naval Minister (1808-1873). Document signed.

Lisbon, 7. III. 1868.

Folio (ca 350 x 225 mm). Portuguese manuscript on paper. 1 p.

 3,500.00

Very rare document of colonial history and the history of Portuguese and British abolitionism: a certificate of appointment of Carlos Eugenio Correa da Silva as Commissioner for the Prevention of the Slave Trade on the African West Coast.

In accordance with the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty on the Abolition of Slave Trade of 3 March 1842, Correa da Silva, commander of the brig "Pedro Nunes", was appointed by order of the Portuguese King as commissioner for the suppression of the slave trade on the African west coast ("encarregado de evitar o tráfico da escravatura na costa occidental de África") and was authorized to stop and search suspicious Portuguese and English ships ("para visitar e dar busca às embarcações mercantes portuguezas e inglezas que sejam suspeitas com fundamentos razoaveis de se empregarem em transportar negros para o fim de os reduzir a escravidão, ou de terem sido equipadas com esse intento, ou de terem assim sido empregadas durante a viagem [...] tudo na conformidade do tratado de 3 de Julho de 1842 concluido entre as coroas de Portugal e da Grã Bretanha, para a kompleta abolição do tráfico da escravatura, o qual tratado o mesmo Primeiro Tenente, Commandante do dito Brigue, deverá exactamente observar [...]").

Includes: Instructions of the Naval Headquarters (ca. 385 x 240 mm, 3 pp.; spotty, small holes in margins) for Correa da Silva, issued by the General Commander of the Portuguese Navy, Francisco Visconde Soares Franco (1810-85), with instructions for the passage to Luanda, where Correa da Silva had to take over the "Estação Naval d'Angola" from the former Commander Caetano Alexandre de Almeida e Albuquerque (1824-1916, Governor of Cape Verde, Governor General of Angola and Portuguese India) in accordance with the guidelines for the prevention of the slave trade ("instruções ... relativos à supressão do tráfico da escravatura").

Carlos Eugénio Correia da Silva, Count of Paço d'Arcos (1834-1905), a friend of King Luis I of Portugal, whom he succeeded as commander of the brig "Pedro Nunes", later became commander of the Portuguese Navy, governor general of Portuguese India, Macao and Mozambique, as well as civil governor of Lisbon and was the first Portuguese ambassador to Brazil. He had already recommended himself for this position in 1864 by the capture of the Spanish slave trader "Virgen del Refugio". The Anglo-Portuguese treaty to abolish the slave trade was signed on 3 July 1842 by the Portuguese foreign minister, the Duke of Palmela, and the British ambassador Baron Howard de Walden, and Portugal subsequently made great efforts to implement this treaty.

Stock Code: BN#50113 Tags: , ,