Portuguese participation in the slave trade 139sations, which were taken up again by Leopold II when he was seeking to
counter Lisbon's ambitions at the mouth of the Congo. The Geographical
Society, under the leadership of Luciano Cordeiro, was at that time at the hub
of the controversy; it published articles rebutting the accusations from Great
Britain, which took the form of a press campaign skilfully conducted by the
king of the Belgians just when Portugal was seeking to take her place in the
European economic order. These attacks were obviously inspired by political
motives, and were manifestly insincere: for Portuguese explorers were every
bit as indignant as the others at the abuses they witnessed, which resulted
from a state of affairs that was past. Moreover various incidents that took place
seemed to the Portuguese to show that the powers were themselves continuing
a clandestine trade. Thus, Portuguese opinion was particularly incensed in
1858 by a serious diplomatic incident between France and Portugal. Portuguese
warships stopped and searched the French ship Charles et Georges off the coast
of Mozambique, where it had gone to pick up 'free emigrants'. Her captain,
accused of slave trading, was arrested and taken to Lisbon, as was the Charles
et Georges. The incident was turned into a matter of prestige by the govern-
ments in Paris and Lisbon, and France sent a squadron up the Tagus which
made the Portuguese give way.
Hence, during the nineteenth century, public opinion in Portugal was
very often indignant at the attitude adopted towards her by the powers, and
developed a real persecution complex where the other European nations were
concerned. This came out sharply over the question of the Congo at the
Berlin conference of 1885.
Nevertheless, she was, as indicated above, the European country that
despite numerous international protests carried on a clandestine slave trade
for longer than any other. The explanation is no doubt to be sought in a shor-
tage of the necessary capital and human resources for the development of her
African colonies, which was offset by the used of cheap labour.
Lastly, the Portuguese Government's desire to develop these territories
resulted from the loss of Brazil, which, as we have seen, was the main recipient
of the influx of humanity supplied by Africa. The next question that arises is
the socio-economic influence of the slave trade on Portugal itself.
The effects of the slave trade on Portugal's socio-economic
development
It is impossible to make a proper appraisement of this question in the present
state of our knowledge : more especially as the slave trade was never more than
a secondary aspect of primary activities such as the improvement of land for
agriculture (especially plantations), mining, the peopling of desert or under-
populated areas, and so on. It is very difficult to assess it in isolation, since it
has always been indissolubly linked with these other activities. We can, however,