Departing without Leaving: The Luso-Brazilians under the Spanish Rule in Rio de la Plata, 1777–1808

In 1777, the Spaniards put an end to the century-long Portuguese control over the town of Colonia do Sacramento. The termination of the Portuguese colonial project in Rio de la Plata did not lead to the departure of Portuguese subjects from the region, however. In this paper, I analyze the relocation of Portuguese subjects and their networks in the region under Spanish rule. I argue that Luso-Brazilians had a strong demographic weight in the Spanish city of Montevideo and in the adjacent region known as the Banda Oriental. Moreover, I suggest that important merchant groups relocated to Montevideo, where they had better opportunities of integration into the local society and could benefit from the new Spanish legislation. In Buenos Aires, foreigners, and Luso-Brazilians specifically, were subjected to restrictive laws regarding mobility, property and residence. In addition, I compare the foreign population of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Based on censuses and nominal lists taken by Spanish, Portuguese and British authorities, private and administrative correspondence, royal ordinances and written accounts from the region, I argue that Montevideo became the base for social and commercial networks that were previously located in Colonia do Sacramento.