- Francisco Felix de Sousa
Francisco Felix de Sousa (1754 – 1849) was a slave trader from Brazil of
Lagos (modernNigeria ) descent. He was a African-Brazilian [Jose C Curto: Africa and The Americas:Interconnections During The Slave Trade (2005) p.235 ] who has been called "the greatest Portuguese slave trader".citation|url=http://www.livroraro.com/Bulletin60/Bulletin60/Bulletin60PartXIX.html |title=Bulletin60PartXIX|last=Ramer|first=Richard C.|date=February 2008|newspaper=Richard C. Ramer Old & Rare Books|accessdate=2008-08-26] Marketingslaves in theDahomey region, now known as theRepublic of Benin , he was known for his extravagance and reputably had at least 80 children and 1000 women in his harem. [Harvnb|Thomas|2006|p=695] de Sousa continued to market slaves after the trade was abolished. He was apparently so trusted by locals in Dahomey that he was awarded the status of "King" or "chief." [Africa and The Americas (2005) p.235 ] Although a devout Catholic, he practised the localVodun cult and even had his own family Vodun cult. [Africa and The Americas (2005) p.235] He was buried in Dahomey. [Jose C Curto:Africa and The Americas:Interconnections During The Slave Trade (2005) p.235]De Sousa was a personal friend of Dahomeyan king
Ghezo , who made de Sousa viceroy ofOuidah after he assisted the King in a 1818 coup which brought him to power.Harvnb|Bay|2008|p=68] According toEdna Bay , de Sousa was "deeply influential as an intermediary between European and African cultures".Notes
References
*citation|last=Bay|first=Edna|title=Asen, Ancestors, and Vodun|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=
Urbana, Illinois |date=2008|isbn=0252032551|oclc=128237066
*citation|last=Thomas|first=Hugh|title=The The Slave Trade|publisher=Phoenix|location=London |date=2006|edition=4th|isbn=0753820560|oclc=62133159
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.