5 Arquivo Nacional de Angola (ANA), Cx. 47, "Termos de Fiança" 1840, pp. 217-220.  
became well-off after marriage and, in 1839, he stood as a candidate for the position of Deputado das Cortes (Portuguese Court Deputy) alongside other rich male residents (Pacheco, 1990, pp. 37-39). ${ }^{6}$ Joaquim Ferreira's date of demise is unknown. His death left Dona Ana Joaquina a widow for the second time. Dona Ana Joaquina signed official documents and wrote letters herself, which indicates that she had had access to some kind of formal education. ${ }^{7}$ She lived in a Portuguese-style palace located in Bungo, in the lower part of the town, acquired in 1824, for the appreciable sum of $1,600,000$ réis. ${ }^{8}$ Today, the palace houses the Tribunal Provincial de Luanda (Luanda's Provincial Court of Justice).  
Dona Ana Joaquina is usually referred to as one of the wealthiest Luanda slavers, alongside male traders such as Augusto Garrido and José Maria Matozo de Andrade Câmara (Clarence-Smith, 1985, p. 49). Alone or with her husbands, she engaged in various business activities throughout the colony and even abroad. She was the owner of at least ten vessels, sailing between several Atlantic destinations, including Benguela, Lisbon, São Tomé, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Bahia and the Congo River, either on her own account or shipping goods and captives on behalf of other traders. ${ }^{9}$ For instance, in 1827, Dona Ana Joaquina sent 449 captives to Pernambuco, in northeast Brazil aboard her ship Boa União (Eltis et al., 2008, Voyage Id. 47030). In 1835, her ship Pérola crossed the Atlantic with 490 captives and disembarked in Rio de Janeiro, in southeast Brazil (Eltis et al., 2008, Voyage Id. 46265).