Between streets and homes: women, racialization, and neighborhood networks in the city of São Paulo, 1776

ABSTRACT

This paper builds a connection between census data in the Lista Geral de População de 1776 and related georeferenced data, based on the Planta da Cidade de São Paulo, from 1810. Demographic censuses bring to life populations that are frequently overlooked in official documents, such as the free lower class, the enslaved, and women. In addition to providing an overview of the city’s inhabitants at the time, spatialized information also enables an examination of social group configuration and the creation of neighborhood networks, thus illuminating subordinated groups’ social strategies and ways of life. This study shows the relevance of housing proximity and territorial concentration for the survival of ­­ female-headed household and black and brown population in eighteenth-century São Paulo.

Keywords:
São Paulo (city); historical demography; geo-referencing; women; racialization