The Mercantile Capital in the Center of South America and the Borders of Trade in Colonial America (First Half of the Eighteenth Century)

This article analyzes the reproduction of the colonial economy at Vila Real do Senhor Born Jesus do Cuiaba, in the center of South America. Using various types of documents, we investigated how the dynamics of the local economy were connected with changes occurring within a broader context, in the first half of the eighteenth century. Our objective is to highlight how the local dynamics were related to the "trade borders" and the consequent expansion of commercial exploitation in the hinterlands of Ibero-America.