slave quarters was the name given to the barracks that imprisoned slaves in Brazil during the colonial period. There was no standard for these constructions, each one of them being adapted to the reality of each mill, but most of them were made of rammed earth, that is, clay, with thatched roofs.
There were slave quarters built like large sheds, while others were divided into small rooms and some were designed as small shacks. They could house dozens or hundreds of slaves and were kept in poor conservation and precarious conditions, which allowed the proliferation of diseases.
Read too: Abolition of slavery — one of the most important events in the history of Brazil
Topics of this article
- 1 - Summary about slave quarters
- 2 - What were the slave quarters?
- 3 - How were the slave quarters made?
- 4 - How did the slaves live in the slave quarters?
summary about senzala
The slave quarters were the lodgings that imprisoned the enslaved during the colonial period.
They were mostly built of rammed earth and had thatched roofs.
The term senzala comes from the word sanzala, from the Kimbundu language.
They could be built in different ways, some were sheds and others had several rooms.
The reports point out the bad conditions inside these places.
What were the slave quarters?
In colonial Brazil, senzala was the name given to the lodgings that confined slaves, mainly in the mills. the slave quarters were lodgings that housed slaveized indigenous and Africans, but the strengthening of the slave trade, from the 17th century onwards, meant that these constructions were associated, above all, with the enslaved Africans.
The term slave quarters originates from Kimbundu, african languageO, meaning “residence of servants on agricultural properties” or “separate dwelling from the main house”. The term originated based on the sanzalas, collective housing that existed in some parts of the African continent.
Clearly, there is a distinction between slave quarters and sanzala, the first of which was a barracks in which enslaved Africans were incarcerated. A sanzala, in turn, was a collective dwelling, in which those who resided preserved what was impossible in slavery: their freedom.
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How were the slave quarters made?
In general, there were different ways in which a slave quarters could be organized. Each slave quarters could house dozens of people, and there were also those that housed hundreds of them. Some boiled down to a large shed with a separation just for men and women, while others had internal divisions that allowed married slaves to have their own space, for example.
Many historians point to the fact that the slave quarters, in general, they were made of rammed earth. Some had a large corridor separating warehouses, others could have different rooms; some had windows, others not, having only one opening between the ceiling and the wall that allowed air circulation.
The roof of some slave quarters was made of straw, but there are reports that some of these places were covered with tiles. Some slave quarters were organized into several small shacks, which housed a small number of residents. Therefore, we can see that there was no standard for building a slave quarters and its characteristics followed the wishes of the plantation owner.
Most of the senzalas was at a far distance from the big house, which guaranteed greater security to the plantation owner in case of slave revolts. Another important detail is that, often, domestic slaves were housed in senzalas different from those who worked in the fields.
See too: Quilombo dos Palmares — one of the largest slave settlements in Brazil
How did slaves live in senzalas?
The enslaved workers remained in the slave quarters during the rest period and,à at night, these places remained locked, being watched by the overseers so that the residents would not flee. Some reports indicate that slaves were held by the feet and hands to prevent their escape.
Many historians point out that you they slept on straw placed on the floor or directly on the floor. There was a specific time to go to sleep and to wake up. The meal was taken in the slave quarters, and the food received was insufficient to nourish the needs of a human being. So they were allowed to work on the plantation itself on Sundays in order to get extra food.
New studies conducted by historians suggest that there was a much more hectic life inside the slave quarters than what was expected from a barracks and prison. Archeology has found traces that point to an intense coexistence in these places and confirm that the state of conservation on them it was precarious. In other words, the slave quarters were not just where the enslaved slept, there were other activities there.
In general, the senzalas were portrayed as locals which accumulated all kinds of dirt, there being no furniture, and, in some cases, were full of straw. In addition to the amount of dirt in these places, some reports highlight the bad smell because some slave quarters had a latrine inside.
Many say that the absence of windows made the slave quarters dark places with little air circulation, especially those that were crowded. Reports also tell of the spread of diseases in these places, especially cholera. We can see, therefore, that there was no interest from the lords of ingenuity in maintaining a good conservation of the slave quarters, much less in maintaining a care for the health of the enslaved.
In front of many slave quarters, there was a pillory, a log of stone or wood used to inflict physical punishment on enslaved people. It was strategically located in front of the slave quarters to rememberto them of punishments in case of misconduct.
image credits
[1] Integrity/Wikimedia Commons
[2] Jean-Baptiste Debret/Wikimedia Commons
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
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