African Ethnic Identity: Slavery and Liberty in 18TH Century Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

The manner Minas Gerais colonial society perceived and interpreted African slaves and their progeny with regard to ethnic identity is provided. The issues deal with the manner ethnicity was theorized and worked out in 18th century documents, the meaning given to names of African ‘nations’ within the context of slavery in Brazil, the distinction between ‘blacks,’ ‘mixed-blood’ and ‘white people,’ and what these denominations symbolized within the cultural reality of that period. Documents of the 1716-1732 period of the Ouro Preto Town Hall, found in the Minas Gerais Public Archives, especially the lists of names for payment from the Royal Domain, were researched. Since these documents reveal the name, skin color, profession and number of slaves who were the property of all free people in the Ouro Preto municipality, they are actually a diagnosis of society and of racial relationships therein. The scientific discussion on the concept of ethnicity and its historical construction and ideology and an investigation on the attitudes of the social actors within the Brazilian colony and their present adaptation are also provided.