Glossary

Africano

“African” – used to distinguish African from Brazilian birth.  Some records instead list individuals’ ethnic origins, but the Santiago do Iguape census taker did not record this information.

agregado

free dependent living within a household or on lands owned by their patron

branco(a)

individual whose family reputation or appearance suggests European descent.  Like all 19th-century Brazilian color terms, this is more a signifier of social status than an indication of parentage.

caboclo(a)

individual whose family reputation or appearance suggests Portuguese and Brazilian Indian descent.  Like all 19th-century Brazilian terms for color, this is more a signifier of the census takers’ perception of individual social status than an indication of parentage.

cabra

pejorative term for an individual whose family reputation or appearance suggests Portuguese and African descent; usually implies more African phenotypes than pardo.  Like all 19th-century Brazilian terms for color, cabra is more a reflection of the census taker’s perception of an individual’s status than an indication of parentage.

cachaça

sugar cane brandy

carta de alforria

letter of liberty freeing a slave

coartação

system of slave self-purchase; contracted manumission for a set price

compadres

literally, “co-parents”, a term describing the spiritual kinship between a child’s parents and godparents, or between the godmother and godfather of the same child

consensual union

A couple living together as a family without undergoing Catholic marriage.

cria

affectionate term for dependent raised within the household

crioulo(a)

Brazilian-born slave

Engenho

sugar mill; owner known as a Senhor de Engenho

fazenda

farm, often combining foodstuffs and animals

fazendeiro

farmer, fazenda owner

fogo

Household

forro(a)

freed slave

ingênuo(a)

minor, term applied to children of enslaved mothers born after the promulgation of the Free Womb Law in 1871

lavrador

farmer growing sugar cane to be processed at a local mill.  Lavradores frequently rented land from mill owners in return for a percentage of the profit once their cane was processed.

legitimate

child born of parents united by Catholic marriage

liberto(a)

freed slave

massapé

rich, dark clay well-suited for sugar production

natural

child born to an unmarried mother.  “Natural” presumes that there would be no ecclesiastical obstacles to the parents marrying.

pardo(a)

individual whose family reputation or appearance suggests Portuguese and African descent.  Like all 19th-century Brazilian terms for color, pardo is more an indication of perceived social status and some descent from slaves than a clear marker of parentage.

preto(a)

individual whose family reputation or appearance suggests African descent.  Like all 19th-century Brazilian terms for color, preto is more an indication of the census taker’s perception of individual social status than a clear marker of parentage.  The implication is of greater proximity to a slave past than pardo.

rapadura

hard blocks of brown sugar

Recôncavo

Sixty km ring of land surrounding the Bay of All Saints, Salvador, Bahia.

Senhor de Engenho

sugar mill owner

tarefa

agricultural measurement equivalent to 4.356 square meters

qualidade

literally “Quality” – a measure of individual social status encompassing color, sex, economic position, and conditions of birth.  In the household censuses, qualidade is often designated with a color classification: branco, preto, pardo, cabra, etc.