The Ill-Fated Attempt to Establish a Spanish Slave Trade in the Gulf of Guinea

This paper addresses a dramatic but almost entirely unknown episode of the Spanish involvement in the slave trade in the late-eighteenth century. In 1778, the tiny West African islands of Fernando Pó and Annobón became Spain's first territories in Africa. But despite a meticulously prepared military expedition, Spain’s first major attempt to build a direct trade in African slaves unfolded as an epic tale of double-crossing, sabotage, and political intrigue. After almost four years of tropical disease, death, kidnapping, and mutiny, the Spanish troops abandoned the mission. Spain's attempt to found its own slave depot in the years when the Atlantic slave trade kicked into high gear is a story of utter disaster, frought with cultural miscommunication, fiscal neglect, and international bureaucratic posturing. Like many failures in the historical record, its outcome (or lack thereof) has determined its recognition in the scholarly literature -- the Fernando Pó story remains a brief footnote. Yet a detailed retelling of the events of the mission illuminates a fascinating historical episode that demonstrates just how far the Spanish were willing to go to establish their own stake in the lucrative trade in slaves. Based on original archival research from Seville, Simancas, and Buenos Aires.