Compadrio e escravidão na Bahia seiscentista^*

This article looks into the peculiarities of slavery during the period of its consolidation in the main sugar producing area of Portuguese Brazil, by examining godparenthood practices and patterns in four rural parishes in Bahia from 1613 to 1700. By means of a quantitative analysis, the limited demographic relevance of the free people of color, the status of pardos and mulattoes in captivity and the rarity of Catholic marriage are shown, other regions and periods providing bases for comparison. On the other hand, a few case studies are also used to call attention to the participation of the elites in the spiritual kinship with slaves, be it direct or indirect. Such actions could be useful, for instance, to enlarge the network of social relationships of the great magnates with subaltern free people - who, in their turn, attempted to move upward in the social hierarchy.

Godparenthood; slavery; elites and social hierarchies