Resistência, ocupação e qualificação de cativos na cidade do Rio de Janeiro e arredores (1875 e 1888)^♦

Abstract

The focus of this article is the study of the resistance, occupation and qualification of men and women enslaved in the capital of the Empire of Brazil and its surroundings, between 1875 and 1888. We analyzed information resulting from 8,840 captive escape advertisements published in some of the main newspapers that circulated in the city of Rio de Janeiro and its surroundings. This preliminary movement was guided by the hypothesis that relevant information about the resistance and the occupations and qualifications of these individuals could be found through the indicated advertisements. This hypothesis proved to be successful and made it possible for us to apprehend, within the scope of the temporal and spatial cuts indicated, for example: the importance, dynamics and characteristics of the escapes of enslaved people; the existing link between qualification, reward and republication of advertisements in the same or different daily sheets; the fact that about half of the enslaved who had their occupation indicated in the escape advertisements carried out qualified activities; the fact that the lack of qualification was not the reason for the marginalization of former slaves in the wage labor market in formation from the end of the 19th century onwards.

Keywords:
Resistance of the enslaved; Occupation; Qualification; Rio de Janeiro-Brazil; XIX century