Entre desinteresses, monopólios e abusos : a formação do comércio salineiro no Rio Grande do Norte

Abstract

Throughout the colonial period, salt, like many products, was prevented from being exported. In the case of salt, in addition to export, its commercialization within the territory was also prohibited, thus restricting the product to be intended only for local consumption by the inhabitants of the regions that naturally produce it. The area where Rio Grande do Norte is located today is naturally prone to the development of production, but several factors prevent it from growing economically, the main one being the signing of the document named “Salt Monopoly” which stagnated salt extraction for 170 years until which were released as holdings in the early 19th century. These periods that mark changes in the salt industry prove to be an important milestone in tracing the entire process of economic formation in the return of salt to the Rio Grande and thus achieving the objectives.