Mulheres escravizadas em Uberaba – MG: resistência nos documentos judiciais, século XIX

Abstract

The present work aimed to analyze judicial documents involving enslaved women in Uberaba in the 19th century, and through them recognize the different forms of resistance mobilized by them to free themselves from legal and landlord impositions. In this context, we identified racial theories that defended certain standards of moral conduct, which served as a way to justify the imposed violence and to continue the slavery system. Even in this scenario, women resisted in different ways and took advantage of the system’s own loopholes to achieve their goals. Based on the perspective of Social History, we sought to understand the experiences of enslaved and freed women. And, through the concept of intersectionality, observe the different violences to which they were subjected. Furthermore, we present the research scenario to demonstrate the local characteristics and the works already carried out on the subject, seeking to establish a dialogue with the legislation of the Brazilian Empire. The analysis of judicial documents combined with historiography on gender and resistance revealed a fertile field of research, where it was possible to reflect on the situation of “being a black woman” in the western hinterlands of Minas Gerais in the 19th century.