18 BOA, no. 706, 9 April 1859, p. 11; Lopes Cardoso, 1972, p. 7.  
daughter, Dona Tereza Luíza, and left her wealth to her two grandchildren. ${ }^{19}$ Dona Tereza was then married to Elísio Garrido, a marriage she had entered into without the consent of her mother, that being the main reason why she was excluded from Dona Ana Joaquina's last will (Lopes Cardoso, 1972, pp. 9-10). The Garridos were among the wealthiest of Luanda's merchants and were thus in direct competition with Dona Ana Joaquina. ${ }^{20}$  
Dona Ana Joaquina's numerous properties were probably acquired through inheritance from her parents and husbands, as well as through her own entrepreneurial activities. In spite of political and economic instability resulting from the end of the slave trade in 1836, Dona Ana Joaquina was able to maintain her position as one of the most successful merchants of her time. The diversity of her investments, as well as her cooperation with the colonial administration, contributed to her long-standing career. For instance, in 1832, she contributed 1,000 réis to the Municipal Council of Luanda for the city's cleaning. ${ }^{21}$ In 1850, Dona Ana Joaquina was the only female among male merchants to make a donation to benefit the poor foreign settlers established in Moçâmedes, in the south of the colony. On this occasion alone, she contributed the significant sum of 20,000 réis. ${ }^{22}$