THE Sexagenarian Law or Saraiva-Cotegipe Law (No. 3270), corresponds to one of the Abolitionist Laws, alongside the Eusébio de Queirós Law, the Free Womb Law and the Áurea Law.
It was promulgated on September 28, 1885 and granted freedom to slaves aged over 60 years.
Summary
In 1884, the Law on Sexagenaires was presented to Parliament by senator and minister Manuel Pinto de Sousa Dantas (1831-1894), known as Senator Dantas.
On one side were the abolitionists, who saw the end of slavery in Brazil without compensation to slave owners.
On the other hand, the planters who formed the country's agricultural elite, mostly slaveholders, who felt intimidated by the measures proposed by the abolitionist politicians. They wanted financial compensation for the properties they would lose.
Senator Dantas' proposal proposed assistance to freed slaves, creation of agricultural colonies and freeing all slaves over 60 years of age, without compensation to farmers.
The project sparked a great controversy. In this way, farmers and liberals took a stand against the approval of the law, which remained under debate for a year.
The law was only approved when senators José Antônio Saraiva (1823-1893) and Barão de Cotegipe (1815-1889) proposed an amendment that increased the length of service to compensate the owner.
Reviews
Note that this law was one of the steps towards freedom from slave labor in Brazil. However, it is considered by many to be a retrograde law that had little effect, since slaves lived in precarious conditions and the average lifespan was approximately forty years.
In addition, according to the law, freed slaves should grant another three years of free work or up to their 65th birthday to the master, as a form of compensation.
Another important point to note is that the Law on Sexagenaires benefited, for the most part, the farmers, since blacks over 60 years old would no longer stand to carry out work heavy.
In spite of this, the Sexagenarian Law was important for the conquest of the end of slave labor in Brazil.
Abolitionist Laws
The abolitionist laws are a set of three laws that were intended to abolish slavery gradually and if possible, without granting compensation to the landowners.
Each law was defended and promoted by a group of intellectuals, blacks, forros, linked to the Abolitionism.
Joaquim Nabuco (1849-1910) and José Patrocínio (1854-1905) stood out in this movement and founded in 1880, the “Brazilian Society Against Slavery", in Rio de Janeiro. In a short time there would be several of these societies spread across the country.
So, in addition to the Sexagenarian Law, three abolitionist laws They stood out:
- Eusébio de Queirós Law (Law No. 581): enacted in September 1850, it prohibited the intercontinental slave trade, which had little effect, as Portugal continued to bring black Africans into the country.
- law of the free womb(Law nº 2040): enacted in September 1871, it granted freedom to the children of slaves born after that date.
- Golden Law (Law No. 3.353): enacted in May 1888, it granted freedom to slaves in Brazil.
End of Slavery
The end of slavery would effectively take place with the sanction of the Lei Áurea, signed by Princess Isabel, daughter of Dom Pedro II, on May 13, 1888.
In this sense, it is worth remembering that even the Lei Áurea did not foresee the consequences of this act for the approximately 700,000 enslaved blacks who still existed in the country.
despite the Princess Isabel having several education and inclusion projects, there was not enough time to put them into practice, due to the republican coup. During the Republic, abandonment continued.
Thus, Afro-descendants still suffer from the lack of public policies for social inclusion, in addition to numerous prejudices, such as the racism.
In effect, the Lei Áurea granted the right to freedom to slaves, but did not provide conditions for them to live in a dignified manner like whites. With no options, many slaves continued to work on the plantations.
Curiosities
- In the center of Rio de Janeiro there is a street named Senador Dantas.
- The village of Floresta, in Rio Grande Sul, changed its name to Barão de Cotegipe when it was elevated to a municipality in 1965, in memory of the politician and his law.
Read more:
- slavery in Brazil
- Bill Aberdeen Law
- Brazilian Black Personalities
- racism in Brazil
- Black Consciousness
