Diplomatic embassies, apostolic embassy

interweavings between religion, Atlantic trade and political power in Luso-Dahomean diplomacy (1795-1810)

Abstract

In the context of the Atlantic Slave Trade, European and African political elites established commercial and diplomatic relations. As such, the objective of this article is to analyze in which ways the elements connected to the religious sphere appeared and were mobilized in the diplomacy between the Dahomey and the Portuguese Empire. Considering a time frame between 1795 and 1810, marked by corresponding diplomatic circulations, a set of missives signed by the Kings of Dahomey and the reports of the Portuguese apostolic mission to the same African kingdom were analyzed. From the documentary analysis, we sought to understand in which situations and under which interests the religious contents were triggered in the interactions between two quite distinct political units. We sought to demonstrate how the representations and projects built around the religious difference between Luso-Bahians and Dahomeans were a significant component for the historical dynamics that connected the two shores of the Atlantic.