Master‐Slave Rituals of Power at a Gold Mine in Nineteenth‐Century Brazil

Abstract

This article examines the Sunday rituals of power that shaped relations between master and slaves at a gold mine in nineteenth-century Brazil. The English-owned St John del Rey Mining Company was the largest slaveholder in the Brazilian province of Minas Gerais during the second half of the nineteenth century. In the 1860s the slave population at the mine numbered nearly 7000. The St John developed a detailed system of incentives to discipline its slave labour force and maintain high productivity. Slaves at the mine were quite adept at manipulating the system of incentives to increase their relative degree of cultural autonomy. On every other Sunday, early in the morning, over a thousand slaves, dressed in a special wardrobe assigned by the superintendent, gathered in front of the Casa Grande (big house) where they were given medals, awards, and public recognition by the overseers and superintendent for good behaviour and productivity. Twice a year, on St John's Day in June and at Christmas, five to ten slaves of exemplary behaviour were placed on a manumission list. After seven to ten years on the list further good behaviour could earn them freedom. Over time, the use of manumission as an incentive became assimilated by the slaves into a right, which St John had to respect for fear of jeopardizing their control over the large slave population. The Sunday incentive ceremony had special meaning for bondspeople and masters, here explored in detail. For the former it was an opportunity to demand recognition for their services and to work towards their freedom; for the latter it provided a scenario to assert their power in a public display of authority.

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