Sexual Politics, Race and Bastard-Bearing in Nineteenth-Century Brazil

Abstract

In the nineteenth century some 20–60% of the Brazilian population was born outside of wedlock and for the white population the proportion was about 30%. Higher proportions of both colored and white single mothers were found in urban than in rural or suburban areas of São Paulo in 1836. However, illegitimacy was invariably higher for the colored population in whatever location. Nevertheless, unmarried white mothers had significantly more illegitimate births per single mother than did the unmarried colored mothers and demonstrated persistance over time in this behavior. This non-marrying behavior and single motherhood was nevertheless joined to a cultural ideology and legal system in which marriage and legitimacy were strong positive values. Nineteenth-century baptism records of illegitimate and “natural” free children in São Cristovão, Rio de Janeiro demonstrate the presence of fathers at 27% of baptisms and of grandparents at near 40% of baptisms. Maternal grandmothers were especially important. Neither fathers nor grandparents appeared at slave baptisms–which in São Cristovão were 100% illegitimate–though godparents were almost always present.

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