THE abolition of slavery, that happened through the Golden Law, it was a remarkable event in the history of Brazil and, despite the apparent temporal distance, this is a subject that still generates countless reflexes in our society. The abolition, which took place in 1888, was the result of an intense popular campaign who pressured the Empire to abolish the institution of slavery in Brazil.
A question that is asked by many in this regard is about the slave's life after the Thirteenth of May. Well, our goal is to bring some clarification about this, especially about how was the life of slaves after the Golden Law.
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Historical context
Slavery was an institution that existed in Brazil for over 300 years, and its introduction into our territory took place through the Portuguese in the 16th century. Initially, slavery in Brazil only exploited the work of the indigenous, but a series of factors led the Portuguese to start exploiting the African.
This led to the beginning of an extremely lucrative and inhumane business that existed in Brazil until the year 1850: the slave trade. O oversea slave trade it was only banned in Brazil after decades of pressure from England, which led our country to enact the Eusébio de Queirós Law. If you are interested in knowing more about this subject, we suggest reading this text: Tráfico negreiro.
During this period, a slow process that led Brazil to definitively abolish slave labor. This process, however, was remarkably strengthened from the 1870s onwards, when Brazilian society, in large numbers, began to mobilize in defense of the abolitionist cause. This mobilization took place in several instances of our society and reached elite, marginalized, intellectualized groups, workers' movements and, c.Of course, the slaves themselves.
THE resistance to slavery in Brazilian society it happened in different ways. Slaves rebelled by organizing leaks and often taking the controlgivesproperty in which they were enslaved. Other groups in society encouraged slaves to flee, gave them protection when they fled, encouraged revolts, used public spaces to defend the cause, they helped with money, they stole slaves from their masters and then set them free. etc.
O weakening of slavery in our country, throughout the nineteenth century, especially after the 1850s, it is noticeable by the figures brought by historian João José Reis, who show the reduction of the slave population in the country|1|:
1818: 1,930,000 slaves
1864: 1,715,000 slaves
1874: 1,540,829 slaves
1884: 1,240,806 slaves
1887: 723,419 slaves
These numbers clearly show the weakening of slavery due to the decrease in the population of captives in our country. THE popular mobilization and slave insurrections forced the Empire to enact the Golden Law in May 13, 1888. This law, after being approved in the Senate, was taken to the signature of the regent of Brazil, the Princess Isabel.
The Lei Áurea decreed, quite simply, the extinction of slavery in Brazil in a very simple way.mediate and without any kind of compensation for the former slave masters. With this law, the big question that arose was what life would be like for slaves when they gained their freedom. We will see below how the day after abolition was and how the ex-slave's life was in the immediate post-abolition context.
the day after abolition
Historian Walter Fraga alleges that on the day of the Golden Law, the expectation for the approval of the law led thousands of people to the streets of Rio de Janeiro, crowding around the Senate and Paço Imperial|2|. The meeting of people was also accompanied by parades it's from bands who walked the streets of the capital.
The law left the Senate and was soon sent to be signed by Princess Isabel. The princess's signature took place in the middle of the afternoon and confirmed the abolition of slavery. With the news, the city of Rio de Janeiro entered into party and was attended by men and women of all classes. Thousands of people gathered in d. Pedro II to celebrate abolition. Walter Fraga claims that the number of people reached 10,000|3|.
The party in Rio de Janeiro went on for a week and, as the news spread across the country, the The popular reaction was the same: people took to the streets running, screaming and celebrating the end of slavery in the Brazil. In Recife, the number of people on the streets was 15 thousand|4| and, in Salvador, the festival also lasted for days.
Walter Fraga explains well the reason for so much celebration on account of the prohibition of slavery in Brazil:
.|5|The party was right. After all, it was the end of slavery. Furthermore, it represented the victory of the popular movement over those who resisted abolition until the eve of Treze de Maio. But what also rocked the party was the expectation that better days would come
THE concern for the future it was something remarkable for the ex-slaves, eager to build a better future for themselves and their family. The historian Wlamyra Albuquerque was able to exemplify this concern of the former slaves well through a letter written by freedmen and sent to Rui Barbosa, in 1889:
|6|“Our children lie immersed in deep darkness. It is necessary to clarify them and guide them through the instruction.”
The abolition of slavery was remarkable, but how did slaves survive after the Golden Law? Certainly, many changes have taken place, but to what extent has the ex-slave's life improved? The lack of government initiatives to integrate the former slave into society and give him something to surviving contributed to the old lords, many times, to continue exploiting the blacks released.
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How was the life of slaves after the Golden Law?
The first big reaction of the ex-slaves was the celebration. In big cities and rural areas, ex-slaves held or joined the festivities, which lasted for days. Another reaction was to move out and Walter Fraga, using the example of the Recôncavo Baiano, states that a large number of former slaves did so|7|.
With that, many ex-slaves abandoned the plantations and plantations on which they were enslaved and moved to other plantations or to other cities. The migrations of ex-slaves, according to Walter Fraga, were part of an effort to “distance themselves from the past of slavery”|8|. In addition, many moved to return to their place of birth, to see relatives, to look for relatives from whom they were separated, to get a better paid job, and so on.
The migrations of ex-slaves generated dissatisfaction on the part of large landowners, so these groups began to pressure the authorities to repress the ex-slaves for loitering and vagabond. this way of repression it was, on several occasions, used by large landowners to repress and persecute former slaves who did not accept the terrible conditions imposed by the masters.
Another repression mechanism developed by the big landowners against the freedom of ex-slaves was prevent them from moving. There were cases of ex-slaves who were threatened and physically attacked so that they would not move. Other lords, on the other hand, sued the courts to tutor the children of former slaves as a way to prevent them from abandoning their farm.
The masters also often refused to pay the wages agreed with the former slaves and used threats when they showed their dissatisfaction. Despite this, slaves often imposed their will and many began not to accept certain conditions. Migration is one of those signs, as many moved, because they left in search of a better salary to survive.
Payments, as demanded by the freed, were to be weekly or daily, and the working day limited. Many also demanded a space to cultivate their own plantation, from which they took part of their livelihood. Those who went to the cities learned to work in the most diverse trades, such as a bricklayer and a water worker, and in the case of women these trades were related to domestic tasks.
Another important phenomenon was the escapes from slave masters, in the days just after the abolition of slavery, for fear that the slaves, then freed, would turn against themselves and their families. Walter Fraga highlights a case in Bahia – at Engenho Maracangalha – where this happened. There, the former slaves, taking advantage of the absence of their former master, seized the land|9|.
THE land question it was also a relevant factor that defined how the ex-slave's life would be with the abolition. The Lei Áurea was not accompanied by any measure to guarantee the ex-slave's livelihood. The situation, on the contrary, was the opposite, since, as mentioned, the law and the State apparatus were often used to repress ex-slaves and to prune their freedom.
The lack of access to the lands that remained in the hands of large owners and former slave owners was a serious problem that contributed to reinforce the role of dependence of ex-slaves in relation to the Sirs. Poor conditions and low wages guaranteed former slaves a subordinate and marginalized position in society.
The same happened in the big cities, since these freedmen, without opportunities and without education, were subjected to bad and poorly paid jobs. Poverty and lack of opportunities contributed to perpetuate this portion of former slaves in marginal positions in our society, which even contributed to the growth of criminality. There were also former slaves who chose to return to the African continent.
In any case, the abolition of slavery continued as a defining moment for ex-slaves. Many of them, in their ways of manifesting themselves, sought to exalt and remember Treze de Maio and the achievement of their freedom through samba, capoeira, religion, etc.
|1| KINGS, John Joseph. “We find ourselves in the field dealing with freedom”: the black resistance in nineteenth-century Brazil. In.: MOTA, Carlos Guilherme (org.). Incomplete trip: the Brazilian experience. São Paulo: Editora Senac, 1999, p. 245.
|2| SON, Walter Fraga. Post-abolition: the next day. In.: SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and GOMES, Flávio (eds.). Slavery Dictionary and
freedom. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2018, p. 352.
|3| Idem, p. 352.
|4| Idem, p. 353.
|5| Idem, p. 353.
|6| ALBUQUERQUE, Wlamyra. Abolitionist social movements. In.: SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and GOMES, Flávio (eds.). Dictionary of slavery and freedom. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2018, p. 333.
|7| SON, Walter Fraga. Migrations, itineraries and hopes for social mobility in the Bahian Reconcavo after abolition. To access, click on here.
|8| Same, note 7.
|9| SON, Walter Fraga. Post-abolition: the next day. In.: SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and GOMES, Flávio (eds.). Dictionary of slavery and freedom. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2018, p. 356.
