The Company of

Cacheu Cacheu is a town in northwestern Guinea-Bissau, lying on the Cacheu River. Its population was estimated to be 9,849 . History and landmarks The town of Cacheu is situated in territory of the Papel people. The name is of Bainuk origin: "i.e. ''C ...

and Rivers and Commerce of Guinea (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: Companhia de Cacheu, rios e comércio da Guiné) was a Portuguese colonial company. It succeeded the Guinea Coast Company and was intended to promote trade in manufactured fabrics,

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

, and slaves in the

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

region of

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

History

Plans for Portugal to set up a new

monopolized A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a spec ...

company has been proposed by Manuel de Costa Pessoa for as early as 1671. With this in account, the Portuguese monarchy established the Company of Cacheu and Rivers and Commerce of Guinea after several discussions in 1675. Its privileges were confirmed on May 19, 1676 by Prince Regent Peter II, namely the right to trade slaves and other products off the coast of Guinea and the

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

islands, as well as exporting said products to

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

. However, 1/3rd of the company's ships were reserved for Cape Verde residents who could have their own products shipped within the scope of a guaranteed right to

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

in the area. The Cape Verde residents had a large degree of autonomy, with the only exception of being prohibited to deal with foreigners. Such amends to the company's regulations were mainly the doing of Cape Verde governor at the time, João Cardoso Pissaro. The company ceased its activities in 1682, being succeeded by the Company of Cacheu and Cape Verde from 1690 onwards.

References

{{Chartered companies History of Guinea Portuguese Cape Verde Chartered companies Defunct companies of Portugal 1675 establishments Companies established in the 17th century