Partners in the crime: river traders and the cabocla resistance in traditional Amazonia

Abstract

This text recounts the history of the “regatão” a river trader who travels between regional centers and Amazonian communities, trading goods with small scale farmers and hinterland traders in exchange for” regional agricultural and extractive product. It examines the role of the river trader in the development of the regional Amazonian economy, focussing on the relationship between the river trader and the cabolcla, specifically the role of river traders in cabocla resistance. The paper is divided into four parts. The first part examines the supply system, the second describes the river traders’ role within it, the third analyzes the relationship between the river trader and the cabocla resistance in the context of the supply system and the third, evolution of the role of the river trader up to the present.