The Cacheu and Cape Verde Company (

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 e Cabo Verde'') was a

chartered company A chartered company is an association with investors or shareholders that is incorporated and granted rights (often exclusive rights) by royal charter (or similar instrument of government) for the purpose of trade, exploration, and/or coloni ...

created by

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

which operated the colonies of Cacheu and Cape Verde in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It was created as part of the economic reforms of Luís de Meneses, 3rd Count of Ericeira, under King Peter II. The company succeeded the Company of Cacheu and Rivers and Commerce of Guinea (which had ceased operating in 1682), with the same objectives: to improve the trade in manufactured goods, ivory, and slaves between the coast of Guinea (modern-day Guinea-Bissau), Cape Verde, and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Created by Alvará Régio on 3 January 1690, it was initially successful, but then faced competition for the slave trade with the

Spanish Americas The region known as Hispanic America (in Spanish called ''Hispanoamérica'' or ''América Hispana'') and historically as Spanish America (''América Española'') is the portion of the Americas comprising the Spanish-speaking countries of North, ...

between 1696 and 1703. In that year the Portuguese crown did not renew the contract for exploration. The Captaincy of Bissau was abandoned in 1707 as Fort Bissau was destroyed. and segments The decline in the company's activities resulted in an economic stagnation in the two African territories, which would only begin to recover decades later with the transfer of the company's rights to the Grão Pará and Maranhão General Company based in Brazil from 1757 to 1777. During the end of the Pombaline Era, the company became part of the Islands of Cape Verde, Bissau and Cacheu Chartered and Commerce Company.

References

1690 establishments in Portugal 18th-century disestablishments in Portugal Portuguese Empire Trading companies of Portugal Defunct companies of Portugal 18th century in Cape Verde History of Guinea-Bissau Trading companies established in the 17th century Organizations established in the 1690s Organizations disestablished in the 1700s Cacheu {{GuineaBissau-stub

See also

References