Glossary
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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. |
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agregado
|
free dependent living within a household or on lands owned by their patron |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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cachaça |
sugar cane brandy |
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carta de alforria |
letter of liberty freeing a slave |
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coartação |
system of slave self-purchase; contracted manumission for a set price |
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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 |
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consensual union |
A couple living together as a family without undergoing Catholic marriage. |
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cria |
affectionate term for dependent raised within the household |
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crioulo(a) |
Brazilian-born slave |
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Engenho |
sugar mill; owner known as a Senhor de Engenho |
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fazenda |
farm, often combining foodstuffs and animals |
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fazendeiro |
farmer, fazenda owner |
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fogo |
Household |
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forro(a) |
freed slave |
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ingênuo(a) |
minor, term applied to children of enslaved mothers born after the promulgation of the Free Womb Law in 1871 |
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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. |
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legitimate |
child born of parents united by Catholic marriage |
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liberto(a) |
freed slave |
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massapé |
rich, dark clay well-suited for sugar production |
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natural |
child born to an unmarried mother. “Natural” presumes that there would be no ecclesiastical obstacles to the parents marrying. |
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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. |
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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. |
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rapadura |
hard blocks of brown sugar |
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Recôncavo |
Sixty km ring of land surrounding the Bay of All Saints, Salvador, Bahia. |
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Senhor de Engenho |
sugar mill owner |
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tarefa |
agricultural measurement equivalent to 4.356 square meters |
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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. |