Redes sociales y sectores subalternos del contrabando terrestre en la frontera inter-imperial, 1780-1810

This text is part of a larger effort on the smuggling phenomenon between the two Iberian empires in the Rí­o de la Plata. Its objective is to better understand a type of illegal inter-imperial trade exchanges in the Rí­o de la Plata during the late colonial period. It is about exchanges made by land (or by rivers and inland lagoons) in the last quarter of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, between the territories on the north shore of the Rí­o de la Plata and what was the Captaincy of Rio Grande do Sul. In these circuits, live animals, leather, textiles, tobacco and slaves were traded. Its economic, political and social importance is widely accepted by regional historiography. This paper presents evidence on the actors involved in these illegal exchanges, with emphasis on the subaltern sectors that formed the last link in the chain of agents involved in smuggling. The same was obtained from 180 judicial files generated in repressive interventions on goods and persons of illegal traffic, in different spaces of the northern band of the Rí­o de la Plata between 1780-1810. The paper uses research techniques of network analysis to characterize the agents involved, as well as their economic, financial and social ties.