During the 16th and 17th centuries, one of economic activities that prevailed in the colony Brazil was the planting of sugar cane and its processing in the gadgets. There were basically two forms of work performed on the plantations: slave labor it's the salaried work. Salaried work will be the theme of our approach in this text.
Initially, only the buildings and installations where sugar was made were considered mills (mills, kitchen, purge house). With the development of sugar activities, the concept of sugar mills expanded, including the whole of the sugar property: crops, uncultivated land, the big house (plant owner's dwelling), the chapel and the slave quarters (slave housing).
Many plantations that existed in the colony employed salaried workers, who, together with the enslaved, shared the heavy tasks and the extensive process of sugar production.
The salaried workers of the Northeast and São Paulo plantations were separated into functions, therefore each salaried worker had a trade and performed certain tasks.
From this moment on, we will detail the trades that existed on the plantations and the functions performed by salaried workers. The main person who managed and dictated the pace of production at the mill was known as headmaster and his task was to manage the mill for the mill owner, owner of the production. Another very important office was the sugar master, which controlled the sugar processing work.
There was also the office of banker: his role was to replace the sugar master at night. Who worked in the purification of sugar was the trap; O brazier worked in boilers; it's the sugar officer assisted the sugar master.
The most feared office on the plantations was that of overseer, because its function was to watch over and punish the slaves in periods when they were working little and in moments of escape. Other functions were to goldsmith, who made gold and silver products for sale; and the one of blacksmiths, that produced iron objects, essential for the resistance and movement of the mills' machinery.
On the plantations there were more wooden machines (mills), so the carpenter played an important role, as he was responsible for construction and repairs. there was the shoemaker, who produced and repaired shoes; it's the potter, that manufactured tableware and other products that were made of clay.
Other trades no less important on the engenhos were: bricklayer, which built and renovated houses; the of tailor, who made and repaired clothes; and the one of fisherman, who fished mainly on holy days, when they did not eat red meat.
Within this hierarchy of trades, those who received the best salaries were the chief overseers and specialists in the sugarcane processing and processing, that is, sugar producers (sugar masters, steam traps and boilermakers). However, the chief overseer received the best salary and the lowest salaries were from the fishermen.
Generally, wages of salaried workers (such as chief overseers, sugar masters, purgers and boilermakers) were paid annually, while artisans (blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, etc.) received their wages by the day or by task performed.
Leandro Carvalho
Master in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/trabalhadores-assalariados-nos-engenhos-coloniais.htm
