THE Sexagenarian Law was one of the laws passed in Brazil with the aim of promoting the abolition of slave labor slowly. It was proposed by Manuel Dantas, reformed by Antônio Saraiva and approved by the Baron of Cotegipe, in 1885. It determined that slaves over 60 years of age would be considered free.
The law was a response by conservatives to the advance of the abolitionist agenda in Brazilian society. Its approval was considered a defeat for abolition advocates and understood as a measure by conservatives to stop the advance of this movement in Brazil. The law, however, did not prevent the abolition happened in 1888.
Accessalso: The life of ex-slaves after the Golden Law
Context
O great debate in Brazilian politics in the 19th century involved the abolition of slave labor. This debate took place in very slow stages and always bumped into the conservatism of politicians, representatives of the interests of large landowners who owned dozens of slaves. In addition to those who internally advocated abolition, there was the fact that Brazil was one of the last countries in the world to use the labor of enslaved blacks, which brought international pressure on the country for abolition happen.
The first part of the debate was related to the prohibition of traffickingthe slaver, and after trafficking was banned, the defense of abolition it began to gain strength, but was stopped by the gradualism implemented (because it was done little by little). Because of this, it was approved the law of the free womb, in 1871, which contributed to temporarily weaken the scenario of the fight against slavery.
However, from 1878 onwards, the debate for abolition regained its strength, motivated by the approaching eight years of approval of the Lei do Ventre Livre. Thus, Brazil could see the first children of female slaves being freed in accordance with that law. O abolitionist movement then he began to act internally and externally to advance the end of slave labor.
Names like JoaquimNabuco and JosephofSponsorship they agitated society by promoting the abolitionist debate. This new mobilization caused a series of abolitionist institutions to be created in Brazil, with emphasis on the Central Emancipating Association, a Brazilian Society against Slavery and the Abolitionist Confederation.
This resurgence of abolitionism was accompanied by a reactionconservative which meant that, in Parliament, debates on abolition were barred, and in society, the presence of slaveholding institutions was expanded. Even so, the defense of abolition advanced throughout Brazil.
Public demonstrations took place, leaflets and newspapers in defense of the cause circulated throughout the large cities, and the abolitionist campaign resulted in the abolition of slave labor in two states Brazilians. So, in 1884, Ceará and Amazons declared that slavery was definitely extinct in their territories.
read more: Luiz Gama, André Rebouças and José do Patrocínio - three great black abolitionists in Brazil
Dantas reform
This dispute between abolitionists and slavers was repeated in political circles, and, in 1884, liberals and defenders of abolition had the possibility of taking this debate forward in politics. That year, the president of the Council of Ministers (corresponding to what we know as prime minister), Manuel Pinto de Sousa Dantas, presented in Parliament a proposal for the reform of slavery.
THE Dantas' proposal brought the following questions, according to historian Ângela Alonso|1|:
- It proposed to definitively abolish slavery in Brazil within 16 years;
- Freed slaves over 60 years of age;
- He reorganized the slave price list;
- It prohibited interprovincial trafficking;
- It allowed the distribution of small lands to ex-slaves;
- It canceled illegal slave enrollments.
This proposal was faced with great resistance by parliamentarians, especially because did not stipulate the payment of indemnity for the masters who had their slaves freed by it. The conservative reaction was so strong that new elections were held to compose the Parliament and, to Dantas' displeasure, the elected majority was conservative.
To resolve the political dispute, the emperor decided to change the president of the Council of Ministers. AntonioHail, and then the Baron of Cotegipe, assumed the post while Dantas' proposal was being debated, and after Dantas left the presidency of the cabinet, his project underwent modifications.
At modifications held in Saraiva's office were presented on May 12, 1885 and established an indemnity for slave masters which would be made according to working time, in addition, the price of slaves was readjusted and increased in relation to the proposed Dantas. Saraiva's amendments were criticized by abolitionists, who adopted a more radical rhetoric.
readmore: Quilombo dos Palmares - one of the great places of resistance against slavery
Sexagenarian Law
![The Baron of Cotegipe led Parliament to pass the Sexagenaires Act in September 1885.[1]](/f/7e7509f3d8db332f8c75769483467ad9.jpg)
The criticisms of the liberals and abolitionists against Saraiva caused him to leave the cabinet, and d. Pedro II chose the Baron of Cotegipe for the function. He was a conservative politician and defender of slavery and, in this role, he followed up Saraiva's proposal as a way of silencing the increasingly radical abolitionist discourse.
Cotegipe, in his effort to contain the abolitionists, authorized the police to act brutally against their demonstrations and mobilized them to capture fleeing slaves. The objective was to weaken the movement in Brazil. He still proceeded with the processing of Saraiva's proposal, not changing it and getting its approval on September 28, 1885.
With that, the Law No. 3270, also known as the Sexagenaries Law or the Saraiva-Cotegipe Law. Through it it was decreed that:
- Slaves over the age of 60 would be considered free;
- As indemnity, enslaved sexagenarians were supposed to work for their masters for three years (with 65 being the age limit);
- Freed sexagenarians were to continue living with their masters and could only move if a judge of orphans authorized them;
- Freed sexagenarians would be forced to live in the city where they were freed for five years (except for the capitals);
- High prices would be set for slaves to be manumitted;
- Interprovincial traffic would be prohibited, etc.
The Sexagenarians Act was considered a victoryFromconservatives. First, because it had been approved without the more incisive items originally proposed by Manuel Dantas. Second because your approval sought weaken abolitionist rhetoric which adopted ever more radical proposals.
Despite this, the Sexagenarian Law failed. In order to weaken abolitionism, it was not successful because the movement continued to gain strength in Brazil and the resistance actions against slavery, peaceful or non-peaceful, continued to increase.
The conservative failure became even more noticeable because, less than three years after the approval of the Sexagenarian Law, the abolition of slave labor was decreed by the LawGolden, of May 13, 1888.
Note
|1| ALONSO, Angela. Political processes of abolition. In.: SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and GOMES, Flávio (eds.). Dictionary of slavery and freedom. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2018. P. 361.
Image credits
[1] commons
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/lei-dos-sexagenarios.htm