A crossroad in the Atlantics

Mercantile and Commercial Goods Routes in Madeira Island in a Global Perspective (18th Century)

Abstract

The article proposes a discussion on the circulation of people and goods through the commercial routes that converged to Madeira Island, demonstrating the insertion of this geographical space in direct and indirect relations with other parts of the world in the first half of the 18th century. This time frame was chosen because it is the moment of affirmation of Madeira wine in the global market. We corroborate our hypothesis from a case study, analyzing the trajectory of one of the most active vessel captains of the period analyzed: captain João de Abreu. In this sense, in addition to geographic aspects such as sea currents and wind regimes, a product with considerable demand in the markets of the period - wine - and the strategies and routes used by the captains of the period helped us to insert Madeira in a global perspective.