“Scenas da escravidão” em Alagoas: histórias cotidianas de resistência, liberdade, cidadania e racialização (1871-1927)

Abstract

In recent decades, several works on the subject of slavery have been published, from more general analyzes to more recent studies that seek to analyze more specific aspects with a focus on the protagonism of the enslaved, which does not mean that the discussions have been exhausted. There are still many gaps, such as more detailed knowledge of captives' actions in combating slavery in specific regions and little expression in the number of captives. It is within this trend that this research is part of, and seeks to understand, in the specific region of Alagoas, the actions of black people in resisting slavery. This research is relevant, above all, because it sheds light on a region that is still little analyzed by historiography, given the focus on the provinces with the largest number of enslaved people until the end of the 19th century, especially those in the Southeast. We seek here to emphasize the historical dimension of structural racism and its discursive construction, which permeated and still guides our daily actions by defending the thesis that structural racism in Brazil is based on slavery. For this we used a variety of documentation, newspapers, magazines, speeches by the presidents of the province, letters, the Empire's legislation and freedom actions, and the choice of written documentary sources proved to be essential for the historiography of slavery in Alagoas. The crossing of these sources, as well as the “indications” they contain, showed us ways to think about the post-abolition scenario in 1888, questioning the idea of the “white race” as emancipatory and of black people as inferior, unprepared for freedom and for citizenship.