Spatial History Project

Documentation

Main Project Page
Historical Background
The Voyage of the Cezar
Search and Visualization Tool
The Geography of Suppression
Documentation
Resources

Documentation

Counting the Free Africans of Brazil

Historical and modern estimates range between eight and fourteen thousand Africans liberated in Brazil between 1821 and 1856.

The most important historical counts, conducted near the end of the Free African regime are:

A nominal count conducted by Reginaldo Muniz Freire and Leocadio José Sousa da Costa in March 1864. Based upon the registries [now lost] maintained by the Curador dos Africanos Livres, the Freire-Costa list enumerated by name and last known fate a total of 7,366 liberated Africans. The Freire-Costa did not include Africans liberated in the provinces of north.

“Return of the Emancipados who have received Certificates of Freedom, of those who have died, and of the number still held in Slavery,” a report submitted by the British consul Lemmon Hunt to Foreign Secretary Lord Russell in correspondence dated March 10, 1865. The return correlated each African to his or her concessionaire. The total headcount cites in the return [8,673] was likely based on the Freire-Costa count, upwardly revised following the extension of full freedom to all surviving Free Africans, under the decree of 24 September 1864.

The tabular summary count [matricula geral], "Estado em que se acham a escripturação da matricula geral dos diversos carregamentos de Africanos livres na Corte, e Provincias do Imperio," compiled by Lt . Pedro Paulino da Fonseca, Veador da Casa de Correção, in May 1868. Apparently based upon nominal registries [again, lost] housed at the Casa de Correção, Fonseca counted 10,719 emancipados liberated in the capital and the various provinces. The figure was revised slightly upward, to 11,???, in the annual report of the Ministry of Justice, presented to the Parliament in March 1869.

Identifying Africans

The chief sources for the identity of individual Africans are nominal lists and certificates of freedom generated by Brazilian authorities at the moment a liberated Africans acquired a unique cohort-specific number [matricula], a Christian or Classical name, and a registry of nação. The sole known case in which African names were registered was the Brilhante, intercepted in July 1838. The term often used to describe the assignment of name, number, and nação was “marking” [Portuguese: tirar as marcas] in reference to registries of the type and location of body markings [marcas]. In addition to these original nominal lists, the nominal lists generated during the matriculas made between 1864 and 1868 have been used to confirm the identity of each known African, via cross-referencing of name and nation. Discrepancies have been noted.

The Curador dos Africans Livres maintained registries of most of the Free Africans liberated in Rio de Janeiro. Each registry was organized by the original condemned vessel [carregamento] and then by matricula.

In the course of their lives as emancipados, some Free Africans used a given name or nação other than those recorded in the marking. However, Brazilian authorities typically insisted that the original name, nação, and matricula be used to confirm identities in petitions submitted by Africans. In cases of death, body markings were sometimes used for positive identification.

In The Broken Paths of Freedom, Africans will typically be identified by name, nação, ship, and matricula. For example, Marcelo Congo, Cezar 29; Augusta Angola, Duqueza de Bragança 159.

To the extent possible, the spelling given at marking is used for Africans whose given names had alternate spellings [e.g., Franklim and Franklin, Apollinaria and Apolinaria].

FOR RESOLUTION

nação: gender: o/a?

In the Search and Visualization Tool, each African will also be linked to a unique identifier. The convention for assigning a unique identifier to each African has been to use the Voyage ID from the Slave Trade Database and the matricula assigned at marking. For example, the adult Marcelo, nação Congo, matricula 29 from the Cezar [Slave Trade Database Voyage ID: 1723] has been assigned the unique ID 1723-0029. Augusta Angola, nação Angola, matricula 159 of the Duqueza de Bragança [Slave Trade Database Voyage ID: 1328] has been assigned the unique ID 1328-0159.

In cases in which the Slave Trade Database does not register the voyage that brought the African to Brazil [for example, in the Africans whose “carregamento” was the Casa de Correção], a four-digit ID has been assigned to each African, followed by the matricula. For example, Thomaz Congo, Casa de Correção 128 has been assigned the unique ID XXXX-0128.

Identifying Concessioniares

The chief sources for the identity of concessionaires are three nominal lists of concessionaires assembled in 1845, 1860, and 1865. Supplemental materials include the petitions submitted by Africans and the concessionaires, found mainly in the archives of the Brazilian ministry of justice.

In December 2012, all known concessionaire names associated with all known Africans and carregamentos were compiled into a single list. After duplicates were eliminated and spelling variants assigned an alias, each unique concessionaire was assigned a four- [FIVE?] digit unique identifier. That identifier, along with a standardized complete name, will appear in the results of the Search and Visualization Tool.