People database

People from the Italian peninsula involved in the Atlantic slave trade and slavery, 15th–19th centuries. Search by name or filter by role, place, network and period.

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  • Lercaro Stefano

    1576–1587
    Investor Finance and Banking, Trade
    Origin
    Genova
    Place of activity
    Lisbona

    In 1576, he and the Florentine Giacomo Bardi invested in the Mina Company, which was established by the Casa da Índia to administer the slave trade and the trade of raw materials in Guinea. This was one of the most profitable enterprises in Portugal. At the same time, he undertook diplomatic activities between the Republic of Genoa and Portugal, sometimes in direct contact with the king. In 1587, he and his partner Giulio Spinola obtained authorisation to open an exchange bank in Lisbon. This gave them a monopoly, as the agreement excluded the opening of similar banks by others for ten years.