O mundo não é dos espertos: história pública, passados sensíveis, injustiças históricas

This article is an exercise in personal historiographical narrative. Based on my trajectory as a scholar on slavery and as a public historian, this study seeks to explore the connec-tions between the contemporary historiography of slavery, the memories of enslaved Africans’ descendants, and the Jewish immigrants’ memories about the European 20th century anti-Semitism. Established on the concept of cultural trauma, the question ad-dressed in this article is: how to deal, personally and professionally, with the Brazilian sensitive (and traumatic) pasts? I argue that, based on my professional experience, I have developed an awareness, not only of the historical injustices of our time, but also of those relating to their personal history. And the conclusion is that, if this issue is faced even moderately by the Brazilian society, it cannot be ignored by professional historians, precisely by those who, because of their professional duties, dedicate them-selves to reflect on the connections between past and present.Este artigo é um exercício de narrativa historiográfica pessoal. Parto de minha trajetória como pesquisadora da escravidão e historiadora pública para explorar as conexões entre a historiografia contemporânea da escravidão, as memórias de descendentes de africa-nos escravizados e as memórias de imigrantes judeus sobre o antissemitismo europeu do século XX. A partir do conceito de trauma cultural, a questão deste texto é: como lidar, pessoal e profissionalmente, com os passados sensíveis - traumáticos - brasileiros? Argumento que, a partir de minha vivência profissional, desenvolvi uma sensibilização não só em relação às injustiças históricas do nosso tempo, mas também àquelas relativas à minha história pessoal. E concluo que, se este tema vem sendo enfrentado, ainda que timidamente, pela sociedade brasileira, ele não pode ser ignorado pelos historiadores profissionais, justamente aqueles que, por dever de ofício, se dedicam a refletir sobre as conexões entre passado e presente

A poupança: alternativas para a compra da alforria no Brasil (2.ª metade do século XIX)

The objective of this article is to discuss the relationship between slaves and their descendants and the monetary economy of Brazil in the second half of the 19th century. Focusing on the Caixa Econômica savings accounts of slaves, we argue that saving money was one of the strategies used to purchase manumission for themselves and their family, mainly after the Law of the Free Womb was enacted in 1871.Este artículo tiene por objeto discutir la relación entre los esclavos y sus descendientes y la economía monetaria en el Brasil en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. Abordando principalmente las cartillas de ahorro de cautivos de la Caixa Econômica, se pretende argumentar que el ahorro fue una de las estrategias de compra de la manumisión para sí y sus familiares, principalmente a partir de la promulgación de la Ley del Vientre Libre en 1871. [pt] Este artigo tem por objetivo discutir a relação entre os escravos e seus descendentes e a economia monetária no Brasil na segunda metade do século XIX. Abordando principalmente as cadernetas de poupança de cativos da Caixa Econômica, pretende-se argumentar que a poupança foi uma das estratégias de compra de alforria para si próprios e seus familiares, principalmente a partir da promulgação da Lei do Ventre Livre em 1871

Les malheurs de Rufina

Dès les débuts du processus d’indépendance en Amérique hispanique, il était clair que celle-ci signifierait l’abolition de l’esclavage. En 1825, presque tous les pays d’Amérique Hispanique avaient déjà approuvé des lois d’émancipation. La situation fut différente au Brésil, ou l’indépendance ne s’accompagna pas de discours favorables à l’abolition de l’esclavage. De fait, toute proposition relative à l’émancipation des esclaves dans la région était vue comme une menace par les autorités brésiliennes, en particulier celles du Rio Grande do Sul. Ce chapitre traite des cas de rapt et d’esclavage qui eurent lieu dans la zone frontalière entre le Brésil, l’Uruguay et l’Argentine vers les années 1840 et 1850. À travers l’histoire de l’Africaine Rufina et de sa famille, enlevée par des capitão do mato [Hommes chargés au Brésil de surveiller les esclaves et de capturer les fugitifs (ndlt)] en Uruguay en 1854 et emmenée au Brésil pour y être vendue, nous chercherons à montrer que ces cas de rapt, qui ont entraîné de longues négociations et des conflits diplomatiques entre le Brésil, l’Uruguay et l’Angleterre, peuvent être considérés comme des tentatives de mise en place d’un réseau de trafic d’êtres humains après l’abolition de la traite atlantique des esclaves par le Brésil

Masters without slaves: reenslavement lawsuits at the Brazilian Empire

The aim of the article is to understand reenslavement practices in the 19th century area of the river Paraíba valley (Vale do Paraíba), whether they were really effetctive and what they meant for those who were involved. From the analysis of enslavement law suits, in which masters accused would-be slaves of pretending to be free, it seems to me that these masters had few assets in a moment when slaves prices were high. Therefore, enslavement law suits were the only means these masters had to try to get back what they considered to be their properties.O texto pretende contribuir para a exploração das práticas de re-escravização na região do Vale do Paraíba do século XIX, suas possibilidades efetivas e os significados a este processo atribuídos pelos diversos agentes sociais envolvidos. A partir da análise de ações de escravidão , processos em que o senhor acusa um suposto escravo de pretender ser livre, argumento que os senhores envolvidos em tais práticas eram senhores de poucas posses; em um contexto de alta do preço dos cativos, o recurso à Justiça era, provavelmente, a única maneira de tentarem reaver as propriedades que consideravam suas

Historiographie et usages publics de l’esclavage au Brésil

La caractéristique principale de la société coloniale brésilienne du XIXe siècle est la présence massive d’esclaves. Pour cette raison, ce n’est pas un hasard si l’historiographie de l’esclavage est devenue au Brésil un des champs les plus fructueux et créatifs, et dépasse l’absence largement mythique de documentation dans les archives brésiliennes. Sans prétendre épuiser le sujet, l’objectif de cet article est de présenter un panorama contemporain de quelques tendances historiographiques, leurs relations avec l’historiographie internationale, leurs impacts et leurs usages dans la société brésilienne du début du XXIe siècle.The main characteristic of Brazilian society in the 19th century was the wide-scale presence of slavery. There were many profound changes during this time with the advent of coffee crops, Brazilian independence, and international politics to suppress the Atlantic slave trade. It is not by chance that studies on slavery form one of the most productive and creative fields of Brazilian historiography, especially after overcoming the myth of the inexistence of documents on the subject in the country’s archives. With no claims of being able to exhaust the subject, this article aims to present a contemporary panorama about some tendencies in the Brazilian historiography on 19th-century slavery, its relations with the transnational historiography, and its impacts and uses in early-21st century Brazilian society.Das Hauptmerkmal der brasilianischen kolonialen Gesellschaft im 19. Jahrhundert war die massive Präsenz von Sklaven. Daher ist es kein Zufall, dass die Historiographie der Sklaverei in Brasilien eines der fruchtbarsten und kreativsten Forschungsfelder geworden ist, das erlaubt den Mythos zu überwinden, in den Archiven des Landes gäbe keine Quellen zur Sklaverei. Ohne Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit möchte der Artikels einen aktuellen Überblick über die Tendenzen der brasilianischen Historiographie und ihre Verbindungen mit der internationalen Historiographie zum Thema Sklaverei geben. Dabei sollen auch deren Einflüsse und Anwendungen in der brasilianischen Gesellschaft zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts betrachtet werden