The way merchants trade, think about business and represent commerce in art forms define merchant culture. The world between 1500 and 1800 encompassed different merchant cultures that stood alone and in contact with others. Culture, power relations and institutions framed similarities and differences and outlined the global outcome of these exchanges.

Peoples living on the shores of the South Atlantic during the first sixty years of the seventeenth century were confronted with challenges imposed by colonial occupation, disputes between empires and continuous warfare. While the future of the Dutch and Portuguese empires was being decided with unparalleled violence, common people faced daily challenges to survive institutional and political interests beyond their control. This book takes the perspective of individuals, families and groups of interest in their daily strive to survive a European pursuit of empire. Contributors are: Catia Antunes, Francisco Bethencourt, Filipa Ribeiro da Silva, Jose Manuel Santos-Perez, Marco Antonio Nunes da Silva, Bruno Romero Ferreira Miranda, Anne B. McGinness, Thiago Nascimento Krause, Christopher Ebert, and Amelia Polonia.