Os Limites da liberdade: escravidão e escravização ilegal na fronteira entre Brasil e Uruguai no século XIX

Abstract

This monograph aims to investigate the impact of the illegal enslavement of free people across the western border of Rio Grande de São Pedro and the neighboring Estado Oriental. Through the analysis of the trajectory of the 'preta menor' Faustina, the goal is to problematize issues such as the influence of the abolitionist laws of Estado Oriental on the attainment of freedom in cases of illegal enslavement, specifically those of 1842 and, primarily, the one promulgated in 1846 by the government of Cerrito. Similarly, the Brazilian legislation will be problematized and discussed, including the Criminal Code of 1830 with its Article 179 specifically addressing the issue of illegal enslavement, as well as the treaties between the Brazilian Empire and Estado Oriental in 1851. Another point of interest is the historiographic debate on the understanding of borders and how they were utilized or managed in warlike contexts as a strategy for escape, the pursuit of freedom, and as a cause of conflicts between neighboring territories. The guiding source of the research is the criminal process initiated in 1852, which involves the minor Faustina as the victim, illegally reduced to slavery by Manoel Marques Noronha and Maria Duarte Nobre. This rich document presents a scenario of war conflicts and razias. In order to support the research hypotheses, historiographic productions on slavery in the southern border of the Empire will be utilized, along with discussions on the existing legislation.