In 1622, following the conquest of the kingdom of Casanze, instead of establishing a vassalage agreement, the governor of Angola imprisoned the survivors and sent them to Bahia. Many perished during the journey, and there is scant data regarding their fate on the other side of the Atlantic. Nonetheless, there was a debate concerning the status of these prisoners, and the Portuguese Crown decided to declare them free and send them back to Angola. This presentation examines this particular event to discuss some of the implications of the enslavement processes in Central Africa and the Atlantic crossing on slavery in Portuguese America in the 17th century. The research is part of a broader project on the topic, which is outlined in its general aspects.
Silvia Hunold Lara is a retired professor collaborating with the Department of History at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). She is a researcher of slavery history in Brazil during the 17th and 18th centuries and the social history of law in Portuguese America. She has published, among others, "Campos da Violência: Escravos e Senhores na Capitania do Rio de Janeiro, 1750-1808" (Paz e Terra, 1988), "Fragmentos Setecentistas: Escravidão, Cultura e Poder na América Portuguesa" (Companhia das Letras, 2007), and "Palmares & Cucaú: O Aprendizado da Dominação" (Edusp, 2021). Alongside Joseli Maria Nunes Mendonça, she edited the collection "Direitos e Justiças no Brasil: Ensaios de História Social" (Edusp, 2006), and with Phablo Roberto Marchis Fachin, "Guerra Contra Palmares: O Manuscrito de 1678" (Chão Editora, 202).
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