1808-1861: The departure of French, British, and Dutch merchants from the slave trade after 1807 initially triggered a sharp collapse in the volume of captiv…

1808-1861: The departure of French, British, and Dutch merchants from the slave trade after 1807 initially triggered a sharp collapse in the volume of captives shipped from Malembo. However, the port saw a significant revival in the 1820s driven by Portuguese and Brazilian traders, particularly those based in Salvador da Bahia. This resurgence briefly returned the traffic to its earlier peak levels before the illegal trade faced more intense international suppression. The persistence of the Malembo traffic highlights the ongoing demand for labor in the South Atlantic even as northern European powers moved toward abolition.