Company of Cacheu and Rivers and Commerce of Guinea
A short-lived Portuguese colonial trading company established in 1675 to organize commerce, including the transatlantic slave trade, in the Guinea region and around Cape Verde.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Company of Cacheu and Rivers and Commerce of Guinea was a Portuguese colonial trading company created in 1675 during the Portuguese monarchy’s attempts to organize and monopolize commerce on the West African coast. Its Portuguese name was Companhia de Cacheu, rios e comércio da Guiné. The company succeeded the Guinea Coast Company and was intended to serve as an authorized intermediary between Portuguese interests, coastal African trading centers, Cape Verde, and Portugal’s American colonies. The company’s proposed commercial scope included manufactured fabrics, ivory, and enslaved people. Its charter and privileges were confirmed on 19 May 1676 by Prince Regent Peter II. The confirmation granted the company rights to trade enslaved people and other goods along the coast of Guinea and around the Cape Verde islands, and to export those commodities to the Americas. This placed the company within the institutional framework of Portuguese colonial commerce and the Atlantic slave trade. The company’s privileges were not absolute. One third of its shipping capacity was reserved for residents of Cape Verde, who were allowed to transport their own goods under a guaranteed right to trade within the company’s operating area. Cape Verdean merchants enjoyed considerable autonomy, although they were prohibited from trading with foreigners. These provisions were associated with João Cardoso Pissaro, then governor of Cape Verde, and reflected the difficulty of imposing a centralized monopoly over established local and regional trading networks. Antonio de Barros Bezerra served as the company’s first captain-major. His tenure lasted four years and ended with his arrest on allegations of corruption and unauthorized trade with foreign ships. He was subsequently acquitted. The episode illustrates the administrative and enforcement problems facing the company, especially in a commercial environment where officials, local merchants, foreign traders, and colonial authorities operated across a wide maritime area. Although the company functioned as an important intermediary in coastal commerce, it did not achieve the comprehensive monopoly envisioned by its founders or by the Portuguese Conselho Ultramarino. The enterprise ceased operations in 1682, only a few years after its privileges had been confirmed. A successor institution, the Cacheu and Cape Verde Company, began operating from 1690. The company therefore represents an early modern Portuguese attempt to institutionalize colonial trade through a chartered monopoly, while also reflecting the coercive and exploitative commercial structures of the Atlantic world, including the trafficking of enslaved Africans.
History
Portuguese authorities explored the creation of monopolized trading companies for the Guinea coast during the seventeenth century. Duarte Nunez proposed such an institution in 1654, and Manuel de Costa Pessoa advanced another proposal in 1671. An earlier attempt to establish a company trading at Palmarin in 1664 failed. These efforts reflected Portugal’s broader attempt to channel colonial commerce through chartered organizations rather than leaving trade entirely to private merchants and local intermediaries. In 1675, the Portuguese monarchy established the Company of Cacheu and Rivers and Commerce of Guinea. The new enterprise succeeded the Guinea Coast Company and was assigned a broad commercial role in the Guinea region of West Africa. Its intended activities included the trade in manufactured fabrics, ivory, and enslaved people. The company’s rights were formally confirmed on 19 May 1676 by Prince Regent Peter II. The confirmation authorized commerce in enslaved people and other products along the Guinea coast and around the Cape Verde islands, as well as the export of those goods to Portuguese territories in the Americas. The charter incorporated concessions to Cape Verde residents. One third of the company’s ships was reserved for their goods, and Cape Verde inhabitants received a guaranteed right to trade within the company’s area. They retained substantial autonomy, although they were barred from dealing with foreigners. These arrangements were principally connected with João Cardoso Pissaro, governor of Cape Verde at the time. They show that the company’s formal monopoly had to accommodate existing colonial communities and regional trading practices. Antonio de Barros Bezerra was the first captain-major. He served for four years before being arrested for corruption and illegal commerce with foreign ships. He was later acquitted. The incident points to the practical difficulties of supervising maritime trade and enforcing a monopoly over a geographically dispersed coastline. Company officials and merchants operated amid competition from foreign shipping and established networks that could not easily be brought under Portuguese control. The company remained an important middleman in coastal commerce, but it did not achieve the full monopoly anticipated by the enterprise itself or by the Conselho Ultramarino, Portugal’s overseas administrative council. It ceased activities in 1682. A successor, the Cacheu and Cape Verde Company, was established from 1690 onward. The company’s history is consequently one of limited institutional success: it provided a formal vehicle for Portuguese colonial commerce, but its short existence and inability to control the market revealed the limits of monopoly-company models in the Guinea and Cape Verde trading environment.
- 1690
Successor company begins operating
[1]The Cacheu and Cape Verde Company succeeded the defunct enterprise in the Portuguese colonial trading system.
- 1682
Operations end
[1]The company ceased activities after failing to establish the monopoly envisioned by Portuguese authorities.
- 1676
Privileges confirmed
[1]On 19 May, Prince Regent Peter II confirmed the company’s commercial privileges in Guinea, Cape Verde, and export routes to the Americas.
- 1675
Company established
[1]The Portuguese monarchy established the Company of Cacheu and Rivers and Commerce of Guinea as a successor to the Guinea Coast Company.
- 1671
Further company proposal
[1]Manuel de Costa Pessoa put forward another proposal for a Portuguese trading company in the Guinea sphere.
- 1664
Palmarin company attempt fails
[1]An effort to create a company trading at Palmarin was unsuccessful.
- 1654
Early proposal for a Guinea monopoly company
[1]Duarte Nunez proposed the creation of a new Portuguese company intended to organize and monopolize trade connected with Guinea.
Products and positioning
A Portuguese chartered colonial trading monopoly intended to coordinate commerce in the Guinea region, Cape Verde, and routes to the Americas.
Trade commodity · 1675
Manufactured fabrics
Manufactured fabrics were among the commercial goods the company was intended to handle in its Guinea-region trading operations.
Trade commodity · 1675
Ivory
Ivory formed part of the company’s authorized and intended commerce along the West African coast.
Human trafficking · 1676
Enslaved people
The company was granted rights to participate in the trafficking of enslaved Africans in the Guinea and Cape Verde areas and to export enslaved people to the Americas. This was a coercive colonial trade rather than a conventional product offering.
Controversies
Brand decisions
1682
End of company operationsStrategyBackground
The company failed to establish the comprehensive monopoly anticipated by the company and the Conselho Ultramarino.
Action taken
The company ceased activities.
Aftermath
A successor organization, the Cacheu and Cape Verde Company, began operating from 1690.
1676
Reserved shipping capacity and trade rights for Cape Verde residentsStrategyBackground
The company’s monopoly had to accommodate established Cape Verdean merchants and colonial trading practices.
Action taken
One third of the company’s ships was reserved for Cape Verde residents’ goods, while residents received a guaranteed right to trade in the company’s area, subject to a prohibition on dealing with foreigners.
Aftermath
The arrangement gave Cape Verde residents significant autonomy but also limited the company’s ability to operate as an unrestricted monopoly.
Recent events
- 1682
Company ceases activities[1]
Bankruptcy
The company ended its operations after failing to establish the monopoly envisaged by Portuguese authorities.
- 1676
Company privileges confirmed by Prince Regent Peter II[1]
Regulation
The company received confirmation of its rights to trade enslaved people and other commodities in the Guinea and Cape Verde areas and to export them to the Americas.
- 1675
Portuguese monarchy establishes the Company of Cacheu and Rivers and Commerce of Guinea[1]
Other
After earlier proposals and unsuccessful attempts to organize a Guinea trading company, the Portuguese monarchy established this new colonial company.
Sources1 sources
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