[1] She and her extended family built up a powerful trading empire that stretched from the Gambia river to Sierra Leone.
A triumvirate, which included Bibiana's brother, ruled the town "in the name of the people", meaning the Afro-Portuguese traders.
[3] In May 1685 the new captain-major, Antonio de Barros Bezerra, appeared with two ships and over a hundred men, a reasserted Portuguese power, arresting the triumvirate.
Portuguese authorities, however, were unable to confiscate her property as lay under the aegis of local African rulers, her allies and fellow advocates of free trade.
[3] They granted her a pardon in exchange for an indemnity and a promise that she would construct a fort in Bolor on the Cacheu River, which she never did.