A law for the freedmen: recruitment sand quilombo territory in the southern Bahia Recôncavo, 1800-1860

Abstract

This article analyzes the repressive action of the colonial and provincial authorities on the slaves and freedmen of Bahia who lived on the fringes of Nazaré das Farinhas county in the first half of the 19th century. It also analyzes the different strategies undertaken by free men to circumvent military recruitment, especially the formation of quilombos and the construction of black territories. The study emphasizes the movement of fugitive slaves who were trying to survive in the cities and districts of the region, the slave revolts and their relationship with the community of suspicious free men. We cling to a relevant bibliography and explore the following documents: county correspondence, Judges of Peace correspondence, captaincy government censuses, traveler reports, provincial presidency correspondence, ordinances, agreements and regulations of the colonial period, criminal cases, baptismal book accents and documents issued by police at the time.

Keywords

• slaves
• recruitment
• territories
• quilombos
• repression
• recôncavo da bahia