1808-1867: In the final decades of the trade, Luanda remained the leading embarkation center for captives from West Central Africa, even as international res…

1808-1867: In the final decades of the trade, Luanda remained the leading embarkation center for captives from West Central Africa, even as international restrictions began to take effect. By 1835, Portuguese enforcement of anti-slave trade laws meant that trafficking was conducted less openly within the port itself. Merchants in Luanda adapted by organizing and financing slaving voyages that took on captives at other, more secluded coastal locations. During this period, ports near the mouth of the Congo River, most notably Cabinda, eventually displaced Luanda as the primary sites for embarkation.