Ivory and Empire: Monopoly Trade from Angola to Lisbon, 1723–1833

Abstract

This article offers a systematic quantification of the ivory trade in Portuguese Southwestern Africa during the long eighteenth century. Drawing upon newly compiled datasets from Angolan export records and Lisbon import data, it reconstructs patterns in ivory commerce under Portuguese imperial rule. The findings show a gradual increase in ivory exports, albeit at lower levels than those by Dutch and British traders. The article demonstrates how Portugal’s state monopoly imposed structural constraints that limited the overall scale of the trade. Nevertheless, ivory occupied an important place within the imperial economy, generating revenue for the Crown and sustaining a domestic manufacturing sector in Lisbon. By integrating quantitative and institutional analysis, this study offers new insights into the economic and environmental significance of ivory within the Portuguese empire.