THE Golden Law (Law nº 3.353), was sanctioned by Princess Dona Isabel, daughter of Dom Pedro II, on the day May 13, 1888.
The law granted total freedom to slaves who still existed in Brazil, a little over 700,000, abolishing slavery in the country.
The enactment of this law resulted in a victory for the conservatives who abolished slavery without paying compensation to the farmers.
For the imperial family, it consisted of the loss of political support and for the slaves, freedom, even if without social integration.
Summary
For 300 years, that is, since the beginning of Portuguese colonization in America, the enslavement of human beings in Africa was an activity that brought great profits to the Portuguese.
Factories installed in Portuguese Africa they practically only lived from this trade.
Slavery was beneficial to all, as it was based on forced and unpaid labor by blacks, who were brought in from Africa.
First, they were destined to extract brazilwood, then in sugar mills, gold mines and coffee plantations. They also performed domestic activities, built houses, bridges, churches and even performed artistic work.
As can be seen, during the colonial period, all manual tasks were based on slave labor. This was bought by the landowners, who paid taxes to the metropolis.
At the end of the 19th century, however, the world was consolidating the industrial production mode, where human strength was no longer essential.
The slavery regime fell into decay and several European countries declared slavery in their countries to be extinct. Later they would do it in their colonies.
Likewise, the abolitionists, freed blacks, and the United Kingdom, the Imperial Family, pressure the Brazilian government to abolish slavery.
On May 13, 1888, the Senate met to discuss the abolition law that was passed. Immediately, the document was taken to the City Hall of Rio de Janeiro, where the Princess Isabel, as ruler of the empire, was waiting to sanction it.
Alongside senators, like Manuel Pinto de Sousa Dantas (1831-1894), Senator Dantas, and others authorities of the Empire, the Regent signs the Golden Law (Law nº 3.353), which declares the extinction of slavery in the Brazil.
The Law had only 2 articles:
“The Imperial Princess Regent, on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor, Mr. D. Pedro II, makes known to all subjects of the Empire that the General Assembly decreed and it sanctioned the following law:
Art. 1°: Slavery in Brazil has been declared extinct since the date of this law.
Art. 2°: The contrary provisions are revoked.”
It is said that the Baron of Cotegipe, upon receiving the signed law, would have said to Princess Isabel: "Your Imperial Highness, won the bet, redeemed a race, but lost the throne".
Abolitionist Laws
Before the Lei Áurea, three laws focused on the extinction of slave labor in Brazil:
- Eusébio de Queirós Law: Law No. 581 which was promulgated on September 4, 1850, by Minister Eusébio de Queirós (1812-1868). The aim was to end the slave trade, transported from Africa to the slave ships.
- law of the free womb: Law nº 2040, is considered the first abolitionist law, promulgated on September 28, 1871, by the Visconde do Rio Branco (1819-1880), in which he granted freedom, from that date, to all children born in the womb slave.
- Sexagenarian Law: Law No. 3270, also called the Saraiva-Cotegipe Law, was enacted on September 28, 1885, in the government Conservative of the Baron of Cotegipe (1815-1889), which provided freedom for slaves over 60 years of age.
It is worth remembering that Brazil was the last western country to abolish slavery.
Consequences
With the signing of the Lei Áurea, the landowners withdrew their support from the Emperor. They did not agree that they would not receive any compensation for the freed slaves.
In this way, they came to support the republicans, who grew mainly in the ranks of the army. A year and seven months later, the monarchy would be overthrown and the Imperial Family expelled from Brazil.
As for Princess Isabel, her popularity grew. He received the Golden Rose from Pope Leo XIII (1810-1878), in recognition of his gesture for the abolition of slavery. Furthermore, his gesture remained in the memory of freed blacks.
Until the 70s, it was celebrated as the one responsible for the abolition of slavery in Brazil, when its role began to be questioned. Currently, sectors of the black movement, prefer to celebrate the 20th of November, death of Zombie, as a reflection date.
As for the thousands of ex-slaves, they did not have many alternatives: either they continued to work on the farms earning little or they left for cities where they would carry out precarious activities.
European immigration
The abolition of slavery represented an act of freedom, although the country was not prepared to absorb the slaves set free.
Even though it had plans to integrate them into society, the imperial government did not have time to promote public policies aimed at blacks. With the republican coup of 1889, the new regime was not interested in promoting citizenship among the black population either.
Based on the "Eurocentric" view, that is, that Europe is the center of the world, farmers preferred the labor that came from Europe. They affirmed that black people would not adapt to the salaried regime.
In this sense, it is noteworthy that this so-called “Eurocentric” vision is a historical stalemate that we have carried for many centuries and we can say that it persists until today.
We realized that many blacks and descendants suffer from the racism in the country, lack of opportunities, and still make up the largest prison population in the country.
Furthermore, they have the lowest purchasing power, which is centralized in the hands of whites or descendants of Europeans.
Curiosities
- The word “golden”, attributed to the law that ended slavery in Brazil, is a word that means “gold”, referring to the new “enlightened” period that was emerging in the country.
- On May 17, an outdoor mass was held in front of the Paço de São Cristóvão (now the Quinta da Boa Vista Museum), in Rio de Janeiro, where the writer Machado de Assis was present.
- By coincidence, parliamentary debates lasted until May 13, the birth date of Dom João VI (1767-1826) of Portugal, great-grandfather of Princess Isabel. Therefore, May 13th is the “Day of the Abolition of Slavery”.
read more:
- slavery in Brazil
- Brazilian Black Personalities
- Bill Aberdeen Law
- Proclamation of the Republic
