Commercial transactions and the Customs of Rio de Janeiro in the first half of the 17th century

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the commercial relations established in Portuguese America in the period of the Iberian Union and the role of Customs in this scenario. The moment when Portugal lived under the sign of Spain favored the exchange between the coastal cities of Brazil and Buenos Aires by sea, since these areas were facing the Atlantic. This gave rise to regular traffic between the Brazilian captaincies and the River of Silver region. Thus, not only the port of Salvador, but also the port of Rio de Janeiro became commercial warehouses from where boats depart to that region with goods that included as destination the Potosí. It is in this sense that the Customs must be seen as essential institutions for the operation of the gears that aimed at the collection of taxes, the organization of commerce and the control of contraband, contributing for the assembly of the apparatus of the colonial system that was beginning to be implanted along with the introduction of the commercial exclusive and the increase of the slave trade.