José Flávio Motta

Escravos daqui, dali e de mais além: o tráfico interno de cativos em Constituição (Piracicaba), 1861-1880

We study the internal slave trade characteristics in Constituicao (Piracicaba) in the period 1861-1880, when the province of Sao Paulo was under the impact of the coffee culture expansion from the Paraiba Valley to the West. Using the registers of the transactions of slaves, we analyze some demographic (sex, age, origin) and economic (price) variables of the commercialized people. We consider, also, the information about the local of residence of the sellers, buyers, and their eventual attorneys, mapping the distinct attributes of the inter and intra provincial trades. Finally, we analyze some effects of slave legislation, mainly of the Ventre Livre Law of 1871. The results presented are part of a broader research, in which the internal slave trade characteristics are studied in various localities of the province of Sao Paulo during the last three decades of the Brazilian slavery.

Às vésperas da abolição um estudo sobre a estrutura da posse de escravos em São Cristóvão (RJ), 1870

The first part of this paper shows the slaveholding structure in Sao Cristovao in 1870, when that parish already belonged to the urban perimeter of the capital city of Rio de Janeiro. Thus that structure can be seen on the eve of Abolition in one of the most dynamic urban centers of the Empire. The results validate the pattern of Brazilian slavery determined by historiography: a great weight of the small slaveholders, the institution of slavery was relatively widespread and slaveholding was not strongly concentrated. The case in focus shows the same basic characteristics of slavery seen since the early 1700s in different parts of Brazil. In the second part, our results are compared to those of several other studies of various localities examined in different moments, showing the similarities and differences observed. On the one hand, Sao Cristovao is situated in the universe of Brazilian slavery; on the other, we seek a more wide and profound knowledge of the demo-economic structures of our slave society.

Duas fontes documentais para o estudo dos preços dos escravos no Vale do Paraíba paulista

We study slave prices in four localities of the Vale do Paraiba (Sao Paulo) based on a comparison of two distinct primary sources in the period 1872-1874. For Cruzeiro and Lorena, we used the Lista de Classificacao para Emancipacao. For Guaratingueta and Silveiras, we used the escrituras de compra e venda de cativos. The similarities and differences found reflected the characteristics of each source. The escrituras give the slave prices nearest of the market values; nevertheless, they do not encompass the slave population as a whole. On the other hand, the Lista de Classificacao bring the information for almost the totality of the slaves, but is less accurate in the individual evaluations.

Distribuição e concentração da riqueza com base em inventários post mortem na presença de casos de riqueza líquida negativa

We analyzed the distribution and concentration of the wealth in 678 inventories of two localities (Iguape and Xiririca) of the Valley of Ribeira, Sao Paulo, opened between the years of 1800 and 1880. At first, we distinguished the distribution of the gross wealth (sum of all the property and assets belonging to the inventoried) and of the liquid wealth (gross wealth deduced the passive debts). This as standard places the position of 64% of the patrimonies, highlighting about 10% whose liquid wealth showed negative. Using as reference the economic activity tied with the inventoried, we evaluated the impact of the use of the two measures in the distribution of the wealth and proposed the use of the Gini coefficient which makes possible the incorporation of these negative values.

Dinamismo econômico e batismos de ingênuos: a libertação do ventre da escrava em Casa Branca e Iguape, província de São Paulo (1871-1885)

We study the baptisms of ingenuos registered in the localities of Iguape and Casa Branca, both in the province of Sao Paulo, in the period 1871-1885. Iguape, in those years, saw a slackening of the economic dynamism based on rice cultivation for the internal market. Casa Branca, on the other hand, was near the expansion frontier of coffee culture in the province. We emphasize the comparison between the characteristics of the registers of baptisms of ingenuos preserved for those two cities to explore the impact of their different economic contexts. We observe the frequency in time of the baptisms of children born of slave mothers after de promulgation of the Ventre-Livre Law. In addition, we compute the distribution of baptisms according to legitimacy condition, as well as accompany the behavior of the temporal gap between the dates of birth and baptism. Two case studies are used for some additional considerations about intergenesic intervals. Finally, we analyze the social condition of godfathers and godmothers. As a rule, the disparities between Iguape and Casa Branca were very significant.