or Slaves, Batted by a Peasants, A list of books in the series “appears atthe end of this book an d Rebels Reconsidering Brazilian Slavery Stuart B. Schwartz University of Mlinois Press Urbana and Chicagylini Books eon, 1996 1 1992 by the Board of Tastes ofthe Univesity of nos Manufactre inthe United States of Ameicn ‘This book rine on aid ee nae Unary of Congres Cataloging Patton Dats ‘Shey pens adel: eomieingRexlan storey [Seat Sc Pm aha the New Wor Inari re ad inde. ‘To he memories of Peter Eisenberg, historian of Brazil Andes "Tony" Ramos Mate, historian of Puerto Rico Susan Schneider, historian of Portugal Iriends and colleagues whose spirits live on inthe histories they woot,38 Staves, Peasants, and Rebels Vial Lin, acoso I Minas Geri: excrovas senor Sto Plo. 1966 "as de ponte ec en Men Cer (188° 1 Bra ate encom e Dati Hated Nevo da Cott Slo Pal B72 od tact ne te Cone 1973 Saige cartes do coningzte de ees em Mice Goa nai do tse Psa 29799 rset il ea nose esas de eee 1737~ uns" dic evs So Cen de Esaioe Attn da Unive de Se Pal 45 1362 Minas eit emai vce Sto Pala 18s2a "eens mo Mia Ceri secvaes bre esos de evento” Ani dp Mase Pein SIs 1913 "fase cco e So Dac ol do eal XK" evista de Eds Remco 18, 2022 Viel ane, Mars nt 1OIS A faa euro de exes no Maranhin S80 Paulo, aa Vion da Con Ei To Da cota. Sto al, ‘racon mp: Sys ond series, Chica. ‘tem, mut ‘nnhDtf0 The Men Wid Sytem: 2 aso dat New York Bt naapecos do uc nae do Rio de air (823- IMB Anat do VI Spo Nace dos Dokre de str Tebah Lie «Mabaso 201 3 espe, Cella Mas Tora” “A tnaedoto de cries noe tor parnanse Revita de tia 0 Pa) 9139-94 2. sugar Plantation Labor and Slave Life In the rush to document and portray the resourcefulness and resilience of the men and women who endured slavery and to det ‘onstrate how various aspects of thee life and culture were a ereative sponse t0 the situation in which chey lived, historians of the ‘American slave regimes have been writings new ethnography of Slave cultures. Studies of slave tligin, che ats, family, and the slave community, written with sympathy and conviction, have broadened and enviched our understanding of life under slavery, but fat some cort Slaves didnot form a community ike any other The new studies have often pushed into the background the essential fd distinctive fact of the slaves lives that served a8 4 backop to all their actions and constrained thelr lives as well as the de- cisions made by them and about them. Slaves were a labor free, land coerced work for others oriented virtually every aspec of their Situation. To discuss slave life or culture without a recognition of this realty is an exercise in ethnographic fantasy." In this essay T wish to reinuoduce work 10 a discussion of Brazilian slavery inorder to establish a context in which slave Ile and aspirations developed. OF course, the nature of labor demands ‘varied considerably in diferent slave regimes according to the kind of economic activity and the level of technology available. The variety of work requirements was a primary clement that deter ‘mined the nature of slave life by setting levels of owner expectation and ordering slave priorities. Simply put, those who worked on catle ranches and lived in comparative isolation had diferent op portanities than those who labored in the gangs atthe gold mines fr those who ext sugar cane Tha previous extensive study of the Brailian colonial sugar0 Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels eo Sn et neg en eres ts Sieteefesmennetaratee eae icaieraaer ates aaenenae ee ‘tage sh ee ee eee ree oat stpncnnoutey atte weary pemacmctrene meena Tag eminent gol Danrntocats mnangem sti COLT pla hatin recs Sugar, Work, and Slave Life ‘The Braclian sugar regime inthe seventeenth century, wnlike its later Caribbean competitors, concentrated on the production of get quay “layed” Ser Bete tha pci, in ay ways it was representative of most neweworld sugar plantations, ‘With the exception of details and differences due toloal conditions, ‘sugar production in the colonial American regimes differed litle from colony to colony, as the late seventeenth: and eazy eighteenth ‘century classes of Labat forthe French Antilles, Ligon for Barbados, and Antonil for Brail demonstrate“ To some extent, this situation arose because of conscious bortwing and imitation of the Port sen model developed nal by later agin, Dutch and French Sugar was a distinctive crop: i called not only for god land and a patticular climate but also for paticulanly heavy capital i ‘vesument in buildings and equipment and a lange labor fore dedi cated to continual and heavy activity during certain periods of the year. A sugar plantation, moreover, always needed ¢ mil, or engen tho, where the cane was processed. This combination of integrated agricultural and industrial activities on a raral property gave the ‘ugar plantations their distinctive character and made them quite unlike most other agricultural units. Along with mining and ship building. Europeans engaged in few activities more complex than ‘ugar production inthe early moder period, ‘Let us trace, then, the particular wore requirements of the Brazilian sugar plantations asa bass for understanding how slaves ere used and why certain opportunities for independent actin, t Plantation Labor and Slave Life 4 social advancement exited, In Babi the harvest (of) lasted about nine months and planting extended fortwo months beyond 20 cropelated labor continued for most of the year, Uhus jing sugar production an teal use of slave labor from the lant in of view Physical conditions on Bahian genos were ly pooe ack of clothing, inadequate housing oor nuttin, ‘scipline and cruel punishments. Abowe all the labor re ements on sigat mills wee particularly onerous. During the the mills operated through the nigh, and work sometimes ed for eghteen to twenty hours a day, with work organized shifts within the mil. Exhaustng labor, poor dit, and unpleasant ddangsous conditions combined to make sugars particalely crop in all the new-world slave societies, Bri "These conditions and pater in the trans-Atlantic slave ead rfbuted to an unhealthy demograpie regime that in eum placed se constraints on the options available to slaves. Bahan slaves fered from high mortality and low fcriity. Life expectancy at din the late eighteenth century was probably about twenty years in comparison tothe thirty-five year calculated for US in 1880. The sex tation Babia ata whole was about thee to every ewo women for most ofthe period (1600-1830), and Sugar estates sometimes 2-1 This imbalance originated im and fess reinforced bythe slave tae Here ova « population with an nd 1770 which «downturn inthe suger instr and a reroleane reise inte slave trade tended to shift the rato of Aficans and ois and co improve the ratio of children to adults inthe slave Population, during mow ofthe period 1600-1830 the overall pat fer predominated The snoual ae of natural destin of his op- lation was prcbably becween LS and 3 percents year, an ony the continacd existence ofan open slave fade alowed planters ‘expand of maintain thie labor foe. Tis dap ine Ba «found moat on rater Bow lancr for example, sw no rss to simulate sable fam Mls co promee a vata growth ofthe population Since a slave ould produce in Fourteen to twentyfour months enough saga qual his or ber vale a purchase, os long asthe tae remained pe, planters believed thatthe nike and Cost of sing croulos {Brcilamborn back children for fourteen year unt they could2 Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels become full workers ws not worth the efor The policy was to ste slaves 1 maximum praduction by keeping down costa ‘aineining an inensive work schedule. Fr the planter to double ins investment an adult lave had ony olive or ive Yeas under such conditions. Planters, however, were moved by more than profit and loss ‘The model economic rationality was limited st thes bys series cf eulural and moral constraints coded in Portuguese lw and in the teachings and precepts ofthe church "Thee as saflucced slave life: For example religious prohibitions agains bor on the sabbath and on certain religious holidays was the chief cause of Stoppage atthe Bahian mill, About thee quarter of the days ost inthe milling seston resulted from stoppages for reliious reanons Slaves were allowed to use this “fee” time for themselves, ce couraged to frm religous brothesboads, ad o patcipate ithe ultra forms of de wider soc ‘ut even if we lay abide the euler constrains on the slave owners deve for poi, planters had another problem. Elieive sugar production depend to some extent on sve cooperation ‘he complex operations ofa mull were parculary sescepable to saci putin he cans fel ine bing pa racked egwhec atthe ml elf could spell nin, Moreover sugat a ‘anded'a series of sil and ares" 0 that ti peblem as never simply the quantity and productivity ofthe labor fore, but its quality ands cooperation as wel. Here we mst return tothe peur nature of saga production. Ina way the whole estetefsld and facary “wat a inegated series of processes in which considerable skill in ting and tne ating the cuting, carting, milling boiling and dying had to be ddon Based on experience ad art In the ed, gang labor could be ‘used akhough twas common in ettng cane fo assign daly quotas iota) teams of two peonle [asally 4 man aod a woman, one {o cat and the ther to bind the cae into bundles inthe complex tll ol oing process ter Kinds of abr erin were “The mall andthe boing house were called by the Portuguese the fbi ithe word used today for factory) because of ther in si ate Peng hence in he ail clay the i Ina serics of cauldron, skimming impure, and pouring te liguld into molds that then crystallized ino mga were procetsee ab old ‘or older than the medieval Mediterranean world but was fa some ‘ways strikingly modern. The sugarmaking process in the fabric 1 Plantation Labor and Slave Life 8 ly wesembled the modern industeial assembly line. The pace ‘work was set by technology—the speed of the mail, Ube capacity the kettles, andthe temperature of the fies. The work was done shifts and often measured in quotas. The labor was exhausting ‘an engenho slave," was a common expression. The night Scenes of boiling eauldtons, the whining milan the sweating les caused more than one observer to evoke the image of bel ‘vas ¢ glimpse of the industrial future that seared the Vision of reindustial men who witnessed i "This combination of traditional field practices with an rial style processing called for the establishment and inte ion of two diferent concepts of time and rhythms of work. The est eyele of planting. weeding, and cutting followed the natural thythms of the reason, and i was, in northeastern Brazil particu Jasy, marked and listed by the rainy season (in Babia from April 4 July}, which brought an end to the harvest because it made Ianspore of cane t the mall so dfficule and because it changed the level of suctose extracted from the cane, Within the mill and polling house, however, the shythm was not that of mature ue chat fof regulated, designed process. The work was not rexulated by {locks introduced rather late in the eighteenth century even inthe Jesuit mills bu by capacity of che technology. Sel it was measured find assigned in quota tae paralleled agricaural task sssignmcnt. ‘The contrast here was, as Eugene Genovese has put it "be tween peasant and factory cultures” All slave planeations had a fendency to push toward a modem work discipline, but suga plan tations, especially im ther industrial sectors, represented the ex taeme case: Here, the contrast and potential conflicts between the fyi of eradcionl aricaltural rime set within a supportive feligious calendar that oppoted a regulated and disciplined. work fegime were most apparent” Leaving aside the question of African fencepes of time and labor and their potential confice with the plantation regime, there till remained the conflict between “peas- nt” and "worker time and work rhythms. Task and quota systems potentially served to integrate the two concepes of work kime, set fing eld snd mil operations on the same sale and allowing slaves the opporeunity to etuan to the more natural and less-irected benefits of “peasant” time by successfully performing under the disciplined and measured work regime of “latory” time. The quota system presented slaves cerain opportunities tobe sure, but i also Smoothed the operation ofthe plantation as a whole. ‘Similac advantages could also be gained by cresting a hierarchy“ Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels sf workem, Whe py iclly exhausting and arly ulated the sro inthe mil war aan socal tiesentate. Specialized iveshettemen tachoen, pene pipes, oven and Snr mastered he seal ison tt ws bets ped tot cnc by cary of colo tial ates el Gn one igen entry plstaton shou thier Of he Ahican si rl saver wee anf, oda halo the mila sives wore inte Bln coas ough latocs ony consrutel abouts prea a the total lane force thay eceuped over eneney pect oth alld onan man ‘etal postions While comieabe attention hasbeen devoted fo ‘Be howe slaves and howe ined ur mane Poston sa reality these made up let han twenty pect ofthe tal ate fee, Entry ns tne ley fow sill a ed poston therfore was ded ee that oul be cone sa ma Imus y the saver ro ect Sarton too Workin the cane fed ws ays slave bt in the aria staves, faa fe wakes abr get sete 6 Sie The relative poprtons these ater changeover ine From the seventeenth the eighteenth ety leo tn Fe sah wa woes ul on ely wit ie su teed nko of eo anton chutes Of Yes inthe rel wage ofthis lasso workets Maree lantern Crenngly woe ives inthe il and manage pees thin eh ml making this seo Tacs the costa the con Siete salaries han some cnc, ad made up's much st ‘hind ofthe annual opting expenses oa mil othe slaves the Opportunies that dew sed occupations ofteed served 25 tents beau th sil eatation ote sugar mil etd the pou of promotion within th io: ce and within te Plstation htc. Evertealy, with the inodction of mae fomplestechnolog in he lee eich ae net coma, iran laters complained ofthe ignorance ofthe slave a fre colored workers ho sl ete ga makings an tater than sence, btn the short a the lanes had Beeld oss the lower opettoal cost and he manipulation of work ssl, ‘mets het tang he wes led. "The use of sve in tage and skilled postions wihin he millers ese pens. While nthe ls the eee tf enc and son wa een the pe them was he quality of labor Arad morn fara enseno Plantation Labor and Slave Life 4s kers were separated from the final product oftheir labor. Slaves not make sugar, only the mull made sugar, while the workers red over and over the same limited task. But this premature alization Was conducted with slave, and their use as tech ‘and artisans ina process that was easily sabotaged and that ted workers fom the final product of theit labor posed 2 ing contradiction between slavery and industrial production, ‘The Whip, the Task, and the Hoe “The planters’ answer tothe dilemma of obtaining the quantity quality ofthe Tabor needed was to find incentives that would eit cooperation by offering a least a small window of hope. This so oerok he tl ae offre, cnc the fl Savery always implied the whip or worse and the reality of pun- Ishmenc was everptesent, but ualike the situation in the eld, T Tknow of no reference othe use ofthe whip inside fabrica." There, fuch physical production was counterproducive. While slaves ‘ight be given some unpleasant tasks [like stoking the furnaces) fs punishment, most planters found other methods to assure co- ‘Operation and obtain the quality they demanded. "The angenhos created a series of postive and negative incen- ‘yves not only within the sugarmaking process but also extending foutward into other aspects of society. Presents, mim, and extra ‘ations or privileges were distributed, but even more important was Aimsinution ora reseracturing of work ite. The quota system Was ‘used not only in planting, cane cutting, and other held tasks but also within the mil itself jo many kettles of juice to tend, forms fo fil etc}, alchough in reality the pace of the mill really deter ‘mined the speed of che process. Upon completion of the quota saves ‘were theoretically fee todo whatever they desired andthe evidence {s strong in Bahia and elawhere in Braz that slaves most desired to establish some degree of economie independence, which often ‘meant to work on their own plots and gardens." Using Sundays, feligious holidays and at times days sct aside for self maintenance, Slaves could supplement their dit with thelr garden protion, fell the surpls in local marksts or back to the owner and keep the ‘honey earned either to buy other goods orto save for the eventual purchase of thelr fcedom or that of a loved one “The tak systom and its integration with slave desizes for "foe ‘me,’ alten tobe devoted eo small subsistence plots provided slaves ‘some social space, an opportunity co live better and, in some cases, 15946 Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels 4 chance wpareipte dein cl mathe. Then, sch Scivty might uml in he prom edo, ‘he sl tarot af manumison ns nly common Bl a Mile nied bem chs of uence sok 2s fond nthe ral rns. Sis of faan anno ee Sree abot hal oa sanantonio TeS0-1730 wor purchased aly the saves heme oy tncber he sles tay ahs wr Se li ‘pet ant sar ers are been ote chews Bas From the save” ps oie hee sper ay ae sexmed tbe an opener bec nthe Rae apc, Pore Famers penpective thse wee easnble a eee tenes {othet bor ces Maguay reakitsanes, and socay wee ‘ced because sites easter elena ey & compete svg tasks an am or tele, Upheed Ses om le the plants ho al ce ek Iter ene ea hey might ep tc saves ae Yell nthe form of pad’ mananrssion, One planer ssneel f IS acd n tor ving snes tc on eens “ahaa tha othe land hein of propery The ine oo er ies nor ates Shorr" Ths Nate sie eee ne niin ofthe poste force tha clams he eno see pet and Tats ana ue a Sine fits oth ort an tonne poe ae Senccend ery Henry Keser a nglshnan ho ave an ie ni ai tec yan IS and whe mages aa ee Fermamboco during that port ae some det cbse oa ‘he manner in whch thes ees of ayer fancied, ted ‘Rothe Cat welgoos lr snd Soto pe ee "nny of eto eto ers oes ie aad few mastery vlad this pase The time thos ded aaa th ie “hon inclined to amulet se Since seer were ope they cold ao es pn ae iw, bt in practic tv ownehip of pers wey Sepia ee served uel operas te are stds Kone noc bein de ou sens oe eh whch nase ace odie hs eo teh ced fine Mow likly, Romer exaprsted, ba his tenet wae lnc he scepane ofthe coe fine ppc Slee were contac bth year and by slave retin (0 nce the con pte Visto 8 ese it Plantation Labor and Slave Lie a masters were often reluctant to face the eric of pubic iy veining a lave’ property or by refusing an appeal or chive, Kor ls emahed oo the dficliesencoontered pants wh thought wat thin way Slaves hep thee money remronted it somone oxaie che mates conta so “ould sulfer any punishment ater than lose the aot rch thie wetness When sey cou, slaves put het beyond the master resent pia nga allowing ‘Male rbclton of Musin slaves in avadr in 1839 testimony ‘arious pricpnteanisted that fecden tn the ty of a fe tunks where slaves deposit thelr money an pone Aion for ackeeping "Irs mane ened tallow a slave 0 uy Tio or bet mancmtsion, here was ls the chance thatthe slave, fepccally cul, would take the money and use it eseare Rovonition of slave sgh, therefore, rome fom onsdeations ol moraliey and pacity racial comcrations might move a maser to ty to Keep asked worker ae than allo the purchase of fedom. Kone feportel the eave of save who manaped the ting house of 2 Truro and who was auch an excelen worker thie the maser frac toe hm eventhough the slave ha accumulated money for hs wifpurchate. Foret to workin chaina uel his master Ag elie tnaiy tat as coos nae so, What ib intciesing hres the aity of th save tote hi potion fccumolte ancy for his freom and his expectations sated: Shon Koster aided "is trie of suarbollr render hi ge pros cay and hinted an ow ies nase and comfort While the tsk yee garden los, and manamanon all tpl pects sv ite that were vo eine exen gal outside threngenh reps the acqusion of sels withthe aga making roves Ic lec ores inceincs o slave Sugar master et Tiomen, and foramen sometimes recewed rewards wager of ¥en A percentage of thes product sv incenives Inthe aes of Campoy {ni ds lnc in 190 egal deposition reported haa slave wo ferved as Suput Mater at any ml expecta to eam bowen Se fd ih hundred ren pe day 8 amin” “Taming orauch positon was tl evar: Matos and cviouls we favre in sled occupations or for the howsbold fink They formed a privileged ca of lor working slongside ffecinen, Their poston wa an example other slaves of the eards of cooporaon SKied wosker sing for manuminsion Shld ope fr lavely scare employment ft freedom 5 the48 fase mentioned by Koster by Koster suggests. In a particularly candi remark, the suit administrator oe gdinitor ofan geno wrote in 162:"the mutates ‘These were often interrelated in a way.» The social hierarchy of the engenbus white sores ‘more mules non an aled wees" ti afin ek ea ‘ape sma maser ed el penonatiiey bea ca tonditiens, and moral o« vulcural im. ino Th sp lane a than proprtonaliy in the pp reiterated ad reinorced the a foe SETS Wa rary Incentives seco regional and world economic retaves na vanety of oa System operate more smoothly, but plan. vals realize that aise on lave nono slam ‘was 4 potential danger to that system. et mee Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels yar Plantation Labor and Slave Life ° ‘The Peasant Breach Up to this poin, have stressed the manner in which various tages and opportunities offered to slaves served the labor 1e- of the sagat economy because in Brazil an extensive histor al debate as developed about the socalled peasant breach the slave system. In Brazil, scattered references are found re fing the existence of slave provision grounds and garden plots ‘the seventeenth tothe nineteenth centuries While in part ‘chate over the “peasant breach” has centered on the signif that historians have ascribed to this feature of Brazilian sav 7 the crucial isu i whether the existence of an "internal nay of slavery” which provided slaves some autonomy witha onlines ofthe slave regime, represented thei Victory over @ al coercive labor regime and a potential rupeure of the slave ‘rif i was allowed to exist principally because it served interests of the masters" “Almost certainly, the existence of slave property holding and. fa cercain depre of autonomy resulted from a constant and shifting fries of arrangements and negotiations tht Yared from region to gion or even eatate to estate over ime. In northeastem Brazil ome planters preferred to purchase most of che slaves food, usually fanioc flour whale meat, or jerked sale beef, Others allowed slaves time to work on their own provision grounds. Most common was Some combination of the two systems, serving the goals of the planters 48 well as responding tothe desires of the slaves. An ob- Server in 1837 suggested thatthe food provided to slaves was in Sifficlens and chat slaves prefered to grow their own even if that Increased thei labor burden.® Henry Kosters comments submited to Parliament in 1816 ring the debates onthe amelioration of slavery inthe West Indies fre most interesting in this regard" Drawing on his Brazilian ex- fevicce, Koster criticized statements made in Parliament claiming that because ofthe tropical climate ane day labor in Jamaica could provide as much food as twenty-five in Europe, and he ironically Suggested that only witeherafe or abeah could provide the slaves ‘with such an advantage over European peasants He then turned ¢0 ‘is firsthand Brazilian experience Now nove tha the Saturday of each wee is not suficent in rai forthe sive provide for the remaining sx ys of the week, Toles eas the anngs om Sundays and halldaye, or less his ‘ster lor i done by tsk war, which may enable him 1 work0 Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels foran hour each day upon his own rounds Ihave herd some plan tation slives who aupyy themsclves with fod ae not ab hy task work, complain heavily ofthe Saturday no being ulin hae likewise understood fm many owns sn managers that they did ot eonsder ay toring compat time, ales the sae ha Some tae and ould labor for his mate and be pi or for ome ‘ther person. on hs owe days. cannot in anyere belie that the ior of one dy it mftitent to spy fond fr fourteen I Sou this iva roo of she exteme avarice of men who wil wk thet Akependemes for 30 many hours in each day, when they might be feiched by meting so much es exer ro them Kosters comment makes clear that a variety of arrangements existed on the Brazilian plantations. Morcover, ic underlines the slaves’ desie for more time for their own subsistence. Finally, it also directly links the plantation task syste to slave maintenance Koster viewed this arangement, an the long-run, more profitable to the slaveowner than the unbridled working of the slaves on the ‘main plantation crop. iow the slaves peresived thie situation te ‘mains one of the most intractable questions to resolve. Ii in this regard that a singular statement made around 1790 by Brazilian slaves from an engenho called Santana and the controversy that it has engendered ean be discussed ‘The Slaves of Santana In 1789 a roup of slaves on Engenho Santana, large plan tation in Mn, south of Bahia, klled thet oversee, seized some fof che plantation’ machinery, and ran of to fren a etlement in the forest. A-number of military attempts fo recapture them over the couse ofthe new few year powedunsucesafal, bot the pes sure finally moved the escaped slaves to enter ino neputiaions ‘with the owner ofthe mill, During tis pres, the fugitives dew Lupa "weaty of peace” ving thecondtions under which they would fc fun Stan at slavery. The lanai one pretended to accep the terms, bt then sted the principal eels fd sold them away, excepe for he leaey, wo was imprisoned for ‘many years in Salvador fee Appendix A fora document describing these events and Appx B forthe text ofthe Teal) Such single estate revolts were ot uncommon, bt the pro posed treaty Was extraordinary. Civencental plac among the Wea {y's prosions were conditions relating tothe nature of labor, the quotas required im the task systen sod co the slaves’ aca to ‘Sugar Plantation Labor and Slave Life si Independent subsistence plots. This extsosdinary document, one the few in which Braalian slaves spoke directly about the con tons of slavery, has provoked a considerable contoversy about fs precise meaning and o its applicability to slavery in general in I. Therefore, before discussing its provision, it will be useful, 1 briefly set it into its specific context "The Engenho Santana was located in Uhéus, a region south of Bahis, and somewhat distant from the centers of political authority. “The estate had been established inthe ssteenth century by a gov mor and bad been inherited by his daughter and later by het hus- und, the Count of Linhares. By 1573 Santana had 130 slaves, but, Somewhat remote and isolated, it, like other héus mills, suffered fom Indian attacks in the years between 1590 and 1601. By 1618, the Jesuit order had acquited Santana by bequest, and although its ownership was legally contested until the 1680s, the Jesuits re tained in possession of the engenho.™ ‘Unde the jesuts the engenbo had an undistinguished financial history. Attempts at revitalizing it from its state of disrepair had begun to take effect by the 1630s and by the 1670s the mill had about 113 slaves, although productivity was only about ten metric fons year” Between 1730 and 1750 it yielded only a small anal profit of about 2 to 4 percent on the capital invested in its opera fons" sugar production continued low in the 1750s and the en {genho urned also to timber extraction and some foodstuff Drodection in these years. Despite its indebtedness and the dif Eulties of production, Engenho Santana was still a valuable asset when the government confiscated it from the Jesuits in 1759." ‘Santana was hought sometime in the 1770s by Manoel daSilva Ferreira, who expanded its operations. By 1790, there were 300 slaves at Santana, and by the ime two German scentsts passed through the area in 1819, they could report about 260 slaves, who produced between 130 and 145 tons of sugar. The sizeof the slave force was fexccptional for Bahian engenhos, which usually averaged between 80 and 120 slaves, and the level of productivity of roughly half a ton per slave was about as high as Brazilian mulls stained in this pend “The nature of Santana‘s slave force and is peculiarities have become an issue of debate among historians of slavery. As a esuit estate, its clerical administrators complained continually of the ‘mills isolation and the face that i lacked dependent cane farmers land free skilled workers, By 1670, most ofthe sugarsmaking jobs athe mill were filled by slaves whose attitude made them "worse5 Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels than galley slaves.” Jesuit administrators also complained of the bad abits of the slaves in generals They worked litle and com: plained a great deal and were often described as slow t work, Sxgumentative, and ready to take any advantage. Resident admin ‘stators complained of theft in the panry the storehouse, the mill, and in the fel. Jesuit attitudes toward the Santana slaves do not seem very -alistic. Father Pedro Teixeira on taking control ofthe mill sn 1731 noted that he had received 178 slaves, which was to say, "the same a8 so many devils thieves, and enemies” And he went on to describe them as the "worst indoctrinated thieves, and shameless persons (especially the women) that I have dealt with, lacking in their fear of God and in the service they owe to those who gover ee ‘The family feof these saves changed according tothe con victions of the administrators, From 1704 to 1730 under Father ‘Manoel da Figueiredo, who had serious reservations about the mor als of slaves, conjugal and otherwise, mariages had nat been pro ‘moted and virtually disallowed. The slaves had not been allowed to many and the normally low fertility of Bahan slaves was made even worse by this policy. During the next twenty-five years an active policy promoting conjugal unis within sanctioned marriages ‘wae followed by a cerca of Jost administrators, This produced « Slave quarters characterized by a large proporcion (80 percent) of ouble headed household units and few solitaries or single headed Inouseholds. te also probably raised the fertility Level slightly, a ‘though the evidence here is mixed. By 1753, the family situation of the slaves seems relatively stable and by chat time all of the Slaves had sequired family names, a situation rate in Braz How this population was tansformed during the period of secular contol ater 1759 still unclear In the 1790,» few African ‘bom individuals remained among the slaves, but by 1828, the 222 slaves at Santana were, withthe exception of one elderly woman, all Brazilianbom. "Ths exttaordinary situation vas quite unlike that which obtained on most Bahian engenhos, where Africans pre- Alominated, Moreover in contast to matt sugar mils, the sex ratio ‘was well balanced with 109 males and 113 females Finally it appears that slaves at Santana had often grown some portion of thet own food and that the cultivation of manioe had tlso been caried out by the plantation itself. One administrator complained in 1748 that his predecessor hal stopped planting man foe because the slaves had often stolen from the Lields but that ‘Sugar Plantation Labor and Slave Lie 53 Imanioe floor was needed “for the sick, and to supply the Blacks Iho often are in need” and beeasse “there is a good market fori {in Bahia” Inthe 1750s, the engenbo itself houghe surplus manioe flour from the slaves ata price below its market value, The a+ ‘ministratorin 1753 linked the family seacture to slave subsistence when he complained chat newly bought slaves were a lability be- ase, “having no family, when they gee ill all the sesponsibity for their cae falls on the administrator?” inventories from 1752 01753 indicate that Santana planted some 39,200 covas of manioe fo feed the slaves and the hoaschold. Contemporaries estimated that 500 covas were required to produce the ten bushes (alquieres| feed to feed slave annually. Santana had 182 slaves in 1752 50 that the engenho itself produced less than half of the yeatly re Guizement. No wonder that et Santana's casa da farinha, where Jmanioe was processed, two days a weck were devoted to preparing four from manice thatthe slaves themselves brought in" ‘The sexually imbalanced end heavily Afican nature of the Bian slave fore has been seen as 4 maior contributing factor in the intense degree of slave resistance in the period from 1807 to TASS” Santana, with ss Tange size, apparent familial stability, bal fnced sex ratio, and Brazlian-born slaves, proved no less restive. ‘The slaves of Santana revolted a least thc times in this period 1799"99, 1021-24, ana apn in 1820" The basis thls tetisance scems to have rested not on African ethnic salidarites ut rather fn shared goals, specific objections to those who ran the estate for the absentee owners, and on thelr dissatisfaction with particular aspects of the work regime, ‘With the specific situation of Santana in mind, let us return to the “Treaty of Peace,” offered by the fugitives of 1789. (See the Appendix} This group, led by a cabra (mulatto) named Gregorio Lal, submitted series of nineteen demands or articles that listed thei major concerns. The ists just as revealing in what i contains fs what it omits. Thirteen of the demands dealt direcy with work ‘equiements: quotas in various asks, minimum numberof workers to be assigned to particular Jobs, and specific tasks lke working i a swampy cane field or gathering shellfish, which the rebels refused to do. The rebels asked, for example, fora 30 pereent reduction in the number of canes required as.a daily quota for 4 cane cutter “They also required that the quota for women in manioc cultivation be set 20 percent lower than that of men" "Most interesting from the point of view of slave autonomy are the paragraphs relating to one aspect of i, subsistence, Fits,4 Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels the fugitives ake for Fridays and Saturdays fre rom plantation Cio hor that there ays an Suny, to wt Sey alraiy ected, could be devoted t0 working on thelr ows pots They sought the ito plant ie and to cu ner whoree hey ‘Wished. They also asked that canoce an nets be provide ey rubling tem to sapplement ther subsistence. That the seen tations went beyond subsistence, however was andeined thee request thatthe owner bud lng bat so tht when the sole ‘were seat fo Salvador they would not have to pay eight cee ae ther wor, they hoped t sll thelr surplus inthe orks Yad. long with ther dese to "lay telex and ing wichooe "ceding etmissio,” the demands relating to thls tine seb indicate strong impulse toward autonomous labor sed cence ove tThe enes might have ben able 3 cher might have been able to accep the abridged fren of servitude tha these demand tpi, bat ceri she po Sons ofthe treaty were prticlatlyrewlotionary and tually oe acceptable, The rebels demanded the right to apneons the dprtnimns of ht oven Mone, they wih oman it control of the engenhs equipment the means ofc tion Lite wonder tha the owner feigned acccpeance a he soe osal, but took the fie opportunity to art the aes eve thes me vw af Marah Forte reasons cited above Santana was pot atypical Brzilin anction, ut the question remains of whether ts lersane ae reblog slaves represented a eles of desires poiing ou dhreton ofthe hopes and goals of ether Bracian slaves Tee ‘ebeliousess of Samana slaves ndeats thot Alcan stn fe ‘arity was not the only moivation in slave attmpes te ot against slavery. Pethaps one might even peak of.a"cesl> preee, that sought more autonomy and independence wien laser te pt that there i also evidence of Alcan in Rio'de foetal Salvador who sought some autonomy within he sen Eo aan salting money working of ht own, an oot lipo sociatons* Evidence is eying co cumulant ony in esl tut in many slave reghncr that uch autonomy aad vo slave economy were inteual aspects of slavery, afering cer efits advantages th slaves Yt manila or sage Finally it should be noted thatthe documentation concerning Santana and a numberof other sefeences to sane of ‘heir on produce date fom the ls decades ofthe eigheeath el ar Plantation Labor and Slave Life 55 ly nineteenth centuries. In Bazil this period was one of eonsid- le urban guowth, an expanding export economy, and an increase slave impors, as well asa general vise in the population. All of factors contnbuted to the growth of an internal matket for uf in Brazil and made the right to provision groands and tothe market particulary attractive t9 slaves. The expansion. subsistence cop production was noticeable inthis period in many > of Brasil. While slaves had usually benefited from control their own food resources, chere had probably never been as mouch fadvantage in chat control or in acces to the market ab there was Gt this time. There had also probably never been as much need for Ich setivty. The boom in world demand for sugar and other plan {ation crops in this period had made the cultivation of foodstulls leven less atactive eo planters who were willing to shit ehis burden fan to the slaves themselves, It would seem that the intcmnal dy Inamic of slave aspirations and hopes wat 90 less tied to the cco- ‘homic possibilities of the slave system than were those of the Noes 1. The same point is dicusct and documentcl by Pesce Kochi, Rccaluatng the Areblim Save Community” A Compartve Perse Ave” fel of American History 703 [Dee 983, $790. Star. Sehwarte, Sugar Mantas in the Ramation of Br alien Society (cambrige, i985 The flowing apes draws hese on Instr prevented inthis bok an attempts to summarize seus dda pesrted ther, and hen to incorporate hone with ew tars Src om she goon of lve stony ‘.T have cphasned the spect of sugar Ibo equrements 19 the werkog of colonial saceeyn“Segredoe incre abalo eto © cst no ial n,Q Debts 3 fe 198 8 [re sls Pip D. Moran, “Task and Cang Systems: The Organization Lor on New Word Panton,” i Work aed Sabu in Ea Amerie. ‘Sein Innes, (Chapel ll, 1985, 199-220. 7 An oe Atel Cbr elec do eal po eas dgae 4 minas ek Andre Mansy, atin 1963), orignal” poised in 171, Richard Lig, A Tw nd Ec stro the sand Barbados London, 167) ean Bape Laat, Nouweau veyore cu ies de TAmergue (THE ag, 172) onal ition of 1096 Ligne noted ht eaty planters on Barbs turned to northeastern ‘Basil wo psec the sugarmaing peocess. This tense of knowles56 Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels scusted in David Wats, The West Indies: Patterns of Development, Cul ture, ond Enviznmental Change since 1492 (Caminlge, 985, 18-42, ‘There were eaceptions fo thi srategy especialy on ecesiantical properties, Some, but no all ofthe suit entenho administers anu fn moral and economic pounds for the promotion of sale ales ‘ising of slae children and improved physical conditions for slaves The ‘enedtine Order seems to hae consent llowed an “ameoeatense policy and by the mineterth entry x numberof “peopenive Hoses also aed ich peactees. See my dacusson In Super Pltations 5, 57, Start B Schwartz, “The Plamation of St. Bnei: The Bence Suga Mills of Colona Bas” The Ammencas 38:1 ly Bh, oe 86 7. Eugene Genovese, Rll odan, Ro The Word the Shoes Made. (New York, 197), 284, 291-94. This point was noted in Lgin Bll, "0 Compromiss impossive” Universite Fede da Bahl re, 1987) '8 On the conflict between Eurpean and incan comers of me sand work see Keketo E Atkins “Kati Time rena Tengoeal Con ‘pis an Labour Discipline in Nineteenth Cenrury Colonial Neal” fo ‘al of Aeon History 28° 988, 229-44. See also the discs of hanging concepes of time in aos Le Got, ime, Work, and Cue in the Mile Ages (Chica, 1980, and EF. Thompson "Tne, Wok ‘seine and industria Captaisn” Past nd Prevent 38 967 Se 9. One slave ted to protect his wrk status in the courts Joga, 4 slave of Francico Ge Sousa inthe city of Salvador who workat ode tari of a sedan chair, petioned to have dhe courts intervene potent his owner fram sting hm so monks fd bard secee eee F ein aed See APH, Ovidovia gral do evel 197,178 fakin 24 Get a0 30. This pint is made by Antinio Barros de Casto, "Esravs & senhores os engenhos do Bra” (PSD. die, Universidade Fatal de Camps, 173) 1. On the importance of physical eoetcion within the Brazilian slave ‘epine see Silvia Hunold Lar, Campos da Villncla [Sto Palo; ee oP 1A The extent to which poyhopathic master could make hie + Ting hells made clea by th Bian ave of the wealthy at! powetfl Cares Davila Pereira de Aap, whose amuses ef hi slaves mee deteureeh fo the Inquisition, See Lutz R'B. Mot, "enor na Cane da ase ora de ‘servos mi Bahn colonia” in Escada © invened> da iberdade ol, Foto Fost Rel [S30 Paso, 1986), 17-92, 12, Co Famarion 8. Cardoso, Agricultura esceedoe epitalamo [Petsopolis, 1979) 133-54, provides abet surnary of the gucaton a ‘compas fail to the Cartan, where he finde many prac 18, Saar Schwarts, "The Manumision of Slane in Coon Re il aia, 160-1757 HAR Nw 197) 60235, demons at the perecrate of pald manumissons changeover sini and sacked at 5 percent by the 1740. 8 summary ofthe various quantitative sts gar Plantation Labor and Slave Life sr ieee crenata peter Phase el as tn weicicnea rare sraceeticmee parca neath nanan boat ete ca etar a Speers Seon noes as ‘1 A Travels in Brazil, vols, 2c ed. (Philadelphia, 1817), pe coerubas mis ema et maa Leto eeearreos rious ammeter cares cect Bene roe aa sed ona pee tace es Bt es a ee mm fx Ei oe Cee ean A rk pin son in oot tte SE ine titre Sond Boorse maroc tts pra pin gee eee eres Tercera epg i sie caeen reer tes have ben alice by ts Beta aod Pip D ei neenenme np erie anata pos z= Soe nat n Gn, Rector oct cen cc ali emer tists oo yc ee canes Tue ar er are pine teen wear SEE crs abe eee See See es reas Sgt epee ieee ee De rc tmacetoe acta cs neil: Seta se SE ye sn hs ST58 Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels piece 86 London, 116, 305-36. new eition ofthis lng dogaten arc eiscovered by Manila Carnein da Cunha iin poss the poe tal Slavery and ABelon rbd 28, 28:1 have summarized the complex lp history ofthe Santana al Serpe do Conde sugar mils n Sager Plantations, Si-9? 29 Darl Alden, "Sugar Planters by Newsy, Nov Choice: The Role of the Jesuits inthe Cane Sugar Industry of Colonia Bess eal Tys9e tn The Church and Society im Lain Amesca ed ley A. Cole Ng Onteans, 1984, 139-72" 30."Conta de to 0 gue ests igri tem reibido petencente 30 Engenho de Suncana... 1730-175, ANTE C3), mag S45 ee fuller discussion ia Sugar plentaens 3 31, Alen, “Sagar Plates by Necessity” M045, 22, The plantation was ase in the nineteenth cencry by Fel {sfsro Beant Pontes, Marques de Rayacens conservative spoke os ‘he plier class and an aivocateof clone conto of the dk ee ka Fos Reis “Resintenca escavaem Uhéus: Um decumentelnelvos ne (Ansa do Estado de Wahi, 4¢ 1979, 28597 Soe ao the Sens ‘in Schwan, Susur Plantation, 484-85 £38. PuireFelige Franco (Santana, 15 March 1671, ANT, CS), maga 7.238) Fate edo Teta Coe de Santo Ant Santana 1 Noe I), maga 5, a6 SEANTE CS, maco 15, 224 5. firebird for women cee ae ped rom 205 ZEN ING beth mer af children por worn cum ohare Mee between 1731 and 173% See Super Plantaons 3 ale 6 Invent, Marques de Babaceny APR, adil, mago 2738 (2828, My thanks foto ow Reis fr providing me acopy cl iedanemsece 37-Rronimo da Gamna, “Informe do estado pasado to work the canted of bin thi ie ad then na ‘emain at pustre for we cannot cut cane in'a swamp, ‘ie shll beable to plane our ie wherever we wish, and in any ‘marsh, without aking permsaion for this and cath person cae ‘anda ot anyother wood without having to acount for thi ‘Accepting ll the ahowe articles an allowing us to remaln alway in ‘ossession ofthe hardware, we are teady 9 serve pou flue been We ‘do ot wish to continse the bad customs of the her engunes, ‘We shall be able to psy, velae an tng anytime we wih without ‘your hinderance nr will emission be needed. Nores 1. The tarof, or casting net ssi widely used along the cost of Northeast Brazil fs presently about 170 inches in lenge with 80 ‘nck cca bttom this weighted. Sce Shepard Ft The Raft Fa fermen (lersingtn, 197}, 359. 2 Daly quotas terfo]wee steanure baa mnemonic eve, While iis pose wo eb the quamiy of trea of aoges ‘me, as bem inipossile to doo for manne. Soe ote elon 3.The algae isa dey zeamare equal to 3627 ltrs or aprox ‘mately one English bushel Te reerence to bast pt are tothe ang ‘wbular baskets used to squeese the moistened manic four tot ‘tact the natural poisons found i In Baia te rational and of cane was fingers cach composed f 10 cles with 12 canes per bundle. Thus hand equaled si cance, ‘The eaty seeks reduction inthe umber of hands and the mb of ‘anes ina bani. The Santansfagives wanted s daily quote 250 fates (5% 5% 10> instead ofthe former 4600 canes (o> 10% 13) ‘other words they sought «quot reduction oF 30 erent. 5. The reieence here i aparently tothe psa that was widely sc in colonial Breil, Thee ies good plctarilrepresnttion of te by slaves a ean Rapcite Debre, Viegem Puorseae Hsia 20 Bra 24 ed 3 vols in 2 [S30 Palo, 194, The ccupation of sawyer (era ‘eas commonly listed for sugar plantation slaves since Bulag end te, ‘sting the ml called for much easpentry ‘6 Some ide ofthe quot of ew seguired of slaves is pow by Antoni He reported that the ily vegaement was ale of remand 7 alos [pmo ~ nine inches high by 8 palmos deep et 69 inches by Plantation Labor and Slave Life 6 hie wa teeta ne aoa Se Antal, ore veda who fed the cane through the milling, Moers wee the women wffom cae war csed ae o ie so by beso she ind wd rou ra aeons wa te wan wh Re the Bs erred immigrate Kee3 Peasants and Slavery: Feeding Brazil in the Late Colonial Period Brazil was a great colonial enterprise, characterized for over hundred years by plantations, mines, and an export ecanomy. ‘was the predominant labor form in Brazil, but always on. margins ofthe export ceonomy and inereasngly overtime, there fed population of rural workers and householders who con ly concentrated on the export cconomy and slavery, but by doing thas left unstudied the internal development of the colony and ‘social relations of production in the nonslave sectors of the ‘economy, especially among this peasantry. “The telationship between the export and internal economies and betwoen slavery and other forms of labor organization remains to be explored. Models for analyzing these relationships have been sloped for the plantation colonies of the Caribbean, but in ts large and as ecologically diverse ab Brasil, such models snot proven particularly helpful. Historians must reconstruct, the specific historical processes in which the relations between Havery and peasantry were formed. ‘Stady of that relationship is complicated bythe past research sgenda and assumptions of economic history. Studies ofthe Thin World in general and Latin America in particular have long em pasized the expore orientation ofthese regions and the negative Impact of colonial economies and especialy plantation systems on fvonomie growth and social relations. Mich of what is called De- pendency theory takes 8 ts point of departure vision in which these colonial economies are characterized by plantation oF mining66 Slaves, Peasants, and Rebels enclaves with few links to, and no positive effects on, the internal srowth of their surtounding regions 4 sharp distinction between, ‘xportoriented, often slave-based plantations and a mote “tural” indigenows peasant sector, and a continually unegual relationship of exchange hetween colony and metropolis! Modern economists recognize that agriculture has several functions during the process of economic development and that among ches are providing an adequate fod supply and eazning for. ign exchange. In Brazilian historiography, export and subsistence agriculture like their parallel productive forms of save plantation and peasant household, have been viewed as dichotomies--mets ‘hor for slavery and freedom, dependence and autonomy, feadalism and capitalism, While we now have a relatively wellyounded view of Brazilian slavery, the free rural smallholders have remained mar inal in studies ofthe Bracilian past, subject to widely different in ferpretations and labels, In his chapter I suggest that historically in Brazil, peasant and slave production, or more exactly, provisioning and export agriculture, were intimately related in a Complex, mul tidimensional, and historically changing relationship They were, in effect, ewo faces ofthe sane coin. Peasants and the Colonial Economy Peasy in Bail came from no pecolonil heritage, eased 4x lineage 0 no fallen eivllzaton, aid bore no collective folk ‘memory of glorious past wa, iste, “reconstituted” peas fnuy, a diet result of the colonial economy and slavery” that ened tthe edges of the slave economy, and en Bcw va fa portance alongside i In the colony from its inception, this fee {ural population of smal emer, tenant and dependent emaned forthe most par faceless and even sinamned. The word "peasant? (Campones wes rarely used ler them end was replaced instal bya vancty of terms describing variations in tenure, dependence, gry ma, cap, cc ary gn an av leh ian history the pesuntey was seen as “cle” popelaton, fd uo he county, to ecg y tere ie Joa and ana, to watch a history passed them by ieimay be theoretiealy confusing co lump cash tenants share