The Imperialist Dream of João Albasini, a Portuguese Trader in South-East Africa, 1847–1870

ABSTRACT In the early nineteenth century, João Albasini established himself as a slave and ivory trader at Delagoa Bay, current-day Maputo, Mozambique. In the 1850s, he moved west, crossing the Lubombo Mountains into the northern areas which in 1852 became the Transvaal, also known as the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. He aimed to revive the Portuguese economy at Delagoa Bay through the trading possibilities offered by the Boer population inland. In 1953, the Afrikaans historian Johannes Bernadus de Vaal gave a detailed account of Albasini’s life. He, however, did not consider the Portuguese and Mozambican dimensions to Albasini’s economic activities in the Transvaal because he saw him as a true-blue Transvaler determined to promote the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek’s interests. While Albasini did attach himself to the Afrikaner community, he remained a staunch Portuguese patriot. He dreamt of establishing a Portuguese colony in current-day Mpumalanga to further Portugal’s hypothetical authority in Delagoa Bay’s hinterland. Although deeply interesting, De Vaal’s analysis lacks insight into the obstructive nature of the Portuguese policy towards the economic development of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. However, the independent spirit of the Boers (the Dutch population) and the lack of political will and resources of the Portuguese metropole stifled João Albasini’s imperialist dream.