The Portuguese Empire's African Fortresses: Slaves, Gold, and Ivory

This episode of The History of Portugal takes listeners to the West African coast, where the Portuguese built a chain of stone fortresses—Elmina, São Jorge da Mina, Axim, and others—that became the economic engine of the early empire. Lucas and Luna explore the dual life of these feitorias: trading posts for gold and ivory that later became hubs of the transatlantic slave trade. They discuss the role of local African powers like the Denkyira and the Asante, the logistics of the slave trade from the Gold Coast to Brazil, and the moral contradictions of men like Diogo de Azambuja, who founded Elmina in 1482. The episode also touches on the fortress of São João Baptista de Ajudá in present-day Benin, a last outpost of Portuguese Africa until 1961. Listeners will learn about the trading goods—textiles, shells, horses—that changed hands, and how Portugal's African forts laid the groundwork for its Brazilian colony. A reflective conversation about empire, labor, and the long shadow of the slave trade. #Elmina #SãoJorgedaMina #GoldCoast #SlaveTrade #DiogodeAzambuja #Feitoria #PortugueseEmpire #Denkyira #Asante #CapeCoast #Axim #FortJesus #History #FexingoHistory #Portugal #Africa #Colonialism #TransatlanticSlaveTrade Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo