Russell Wood. The Impact of Gold Mining on the Institution of Slavery inPortuguese America.pdf

7/29/2019 Russell Wood. The Impact of Gold Mining on the Institution of Slavery inPortuguese America.pdf

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Economic History Association

Technology and Society: The Impact of Gold Mining on the Institution of Slavery inPortuguese AmericaAuthor(s): A. J. R. Russell-WoodReviewed work(s):Source: The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 37, No. 1, The Tasks of Economic History

(Mar., 1977), pp. 59-83Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Economic History AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2119446 .

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Technologynd Society:The Impactof GoldMining on the InstitutionofSlaveryn Portuguese merica

HE "golden age" of Brazil was heralded by substantiatedre-ports in the 1690s of placer gold deposits in the Rio das Velhasregion of the future captaincy of Minas Gerais. In Mato Grosso, strikesin Cuiaba (1718) were followed by discoveries of alluvial gold in theRiver Guapore in 1734. By 1725, discoveries in Goia'salso auguredwell. Gold was found in Jacobina and Rio das Contas (Bahia) in the1700s and in 1727 further strikes were made in Fanado and Araguahi.Although the initial exploratory impetus was not maintained, newsites were still being reported from as farafield as Cearat,Sergipe, andGoias at mid-century.All of these regions were subject to dramatic fluctuations in produc-tion. By 1732 the mines of Cuiabai"offeredno more than a shadow ofpast riches." Goias enjoyed a longer life span, but by 1770 bothcaptaincies faced irreversible collapses of the mining economy.1 In1730 the provedor of the royal exchequer lamented the decline ofplacer mining in Bahia.2 Even Minas Gerais, which made up 74percent of total colonial production, did not escape economic crises.In 1735 the governor of Brazil's richest captaincy was forced byeconomic adversity to reformthe statutes fixing civil and ecclesiasticalfees; in 1741 pharmaceutical prices were revised downwards becauseof the declining economic situation. The town council of Vila Ricareferred to the "greatest poverty" occasioned by lack of discoveries

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Journal of Economic History, Vol. XXXVII, No. 1 (March 1977). Copyright ? The EconomicHistory Association. All rights reserved.This article is based on materialsin the following Brazilian archives: National Archives, Rio deJaneiro (hereinafter abbreviated as ANRJ); Municipal Archives, Salvador (AMB); Public Ar-chives of the State of Bahia, collection of Royal Orders (APB); Public Archives of the State ofMinas Gerais, registers of the Municipal Council of Vila Rica do Ouro Preto (APMCMOP),registers of the Delegacia Fiscal (APMDF), and registers of the Secretaria do Governo(APMSG). The names of the following journals have been abbreviated: Hispanic AmericanHistorical Review (HAHR);Revista do Arquivo Piblico Mineiro (RAPM). I would like to expressmy thanks to Philip Curtin, Robert Forster, and Ray Kea, who commented on earlier versions ofthis paper. The author accepts full responsibility for errors of content or interpretation.1 Joao PandiACalogeras, As minas do Brasil e sua legislagao (Rio de Janeiro, 1904-5), I, 85,222.

2 Pedro de Freitas Tavares Pinto's report of 17 June 1730, APB, Vol. 26, doe. 51. On thedesertion of Bahian mining zones for the Diamond District, see APB, Vol. 24, doc. 26; Vol. 29,doc. 143.

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60 Russell-Woodand the exhaustionof gold deposits.3 Indicationsof declining goldproduction, largely ignored by Dom JodoV (1705-1750), becameunmistakableduringthe reign of Dom Jose I (1750-1777).4The economic,political, demographic,and socialrepercussionsofBrazilian gold production were felt throughout the Portuguese-speakingworld. The volume, commodities,andpatternof tradeandthe prosperityof the southAtlanticeconomyin the eighteenth cen-turywere largelydeterminedby the changingdemandsof gold min-ing in PortugueseAmerica. Slave labor was the hinge on which theLuso-Brazilian conomyturned,and slavery remainedthe one con-stant in a colony otherwise characterizedby social mobility. Mypurpose is to examine the impact of Braziliangold on slavery, aninstitutionwhich took a different orm n the miningareasthanit didin the plantationeconomiesof the Braziliannortheast.Mining technologywas most rudimentary hroughout he colonialperiod. In 1700the king informed he governorof Riode Janeiroofthe imminent arrival of four mining technocrats.But the crownrefused to send skilledminers from Hungaryor Saxony or fear thattheir knowledge of Brazilianmines might be put at the service ofhostile powers andencourage nvasion.This policy waslamented byDom Pedro de Almeida, later count of Assumar governorof MinasGerais, 1717-1721),and by the Germanmining engineervon Esch-wege in the early nineteenthcentury.5Because of the lack of techni-cal guidance, innovationwasvirtually imitedto the developmentof

3 Economic straits during the 1730s and 1740s were illustrated by such comments as"mizeravel estado destes povos, pella falta de extrapaode ouro" (1735 reforms, APMSG, Vol.24, fols. 33-44v; \ol. 35, doc. 133) and, in reference to the pharmaceuticalregiment, "feyto emtempo que se achava nestas terras mais ouro que medicinas; e como no prezente ha tantas comofaltasde cabedaes" (APMSG, Vol. 43, fols. 98v-99); Council to king, 5 July 1741, APB, Vol. 52,fols. 89-90v. In a letter of 1 March 1749 the Council of Vila Rica asked for royal patience incollecting the "fifths" n view of the "extrema mizeria e decadencia em que se acha este Pahisem rezao de naio haverem descubertos." APMCMOP, Vol. 54, fol. 177.4 For estimates of colonial gold production, see Calogeras, As minas, I, 133-48; Roberto C.Simonsen, Hist6ria econ6mica do Brasil, 1500-1820, 4th ed. (Sao Paulo, 1962), pp. 283-84;Vitorino Magalhaes Godinho, "Le Portugal, les flottes du sucre et les flottes de l'or (1670-1770)," Annales, Economies-Soci6tes-Civilisations, 5 (Apr.-June 1950), especially 190-97;Charles R. Boxer, The Golden Age of Brazil, 1695-1750. Growing Pains of a Colonial Society(University of CaliforniaPress, 1969) pp. 57-60, 157, 258-59, and appendices 2 and 3; Wilhelm

L. von Eschwege, Pluto Brasiliensis (Berlin, 1833).5 Calogeras, As minas, I, 112; Assumar to king, 12 December 1717, APMSG, Vol. 4, fols.208v-209. In 1729 Dom Joao V granted permission to mining experts Alexandre Pichon andEstevao Alier to go to Brazil for three years. APB, Vol. 26, docs. 77, 77a. Instructions (1733) toMartinho de Mendonpa de Pina e Proenga, on assuming acting governorship of Minas Gerais,urged him to encourage the development of machines to facilitate mining.-Colesam dasnoticias dos primeiros descobrimentos das Minas na America, que fez o Dr. Caetano da CostaMatoco, sendo Ouvidor Geral das do ouro preto de que tomou posse em FevrOde 1749, fols.102-106; this fascinating document is in the Municipal Library of Sao Paulo.



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Gold Mining 61hydraulic machines to increase the availability of water for mining.Initially placer mines were the major source of gold. Speculators(faiscadores) panned water courses, using a wooden or metal bateia.Oscillation of the pan resulted in gold particles sinking because oftheir higher specific density, whereas siliceous material was washedover the shallow sides. Using the same technique were the moreelaborate taboleiros working the whole river bed or grupiaras whichconcentrated on banks or adjacent hillsides. Openings into hillsideswere known as catas. Gravel and quartz from such diggings werecarried to the nearest water source for panning, or water was trans-ported by wooden aqueducts to the cata where the gravel beds couldbe worked by hydraulic pressure. The resulting sludge passedthrough a series of sluice boxes, each of which retained gold particles,to a trough where slaves panned the residue. Such enterprises,known as lavras, called for substantial investment but offered thehighest yield. Lode or vein mining using subterranean tunnels wasalso employed, although less frequently.6By the very nature of the industry, gold production exerted on theminer and society a series of pressures unknown to the sugar plantersof the northeast. Unlike a plantation, an auriferousregion is a wastingasset; furthermore, higher immediate returns are more likely to beachieved with greater investment in machinery and labor. The higherfixed costs, however, force the miner to keep producing if he wantsany profits. Even if these conditions are met, income is less certain forthe miner than the planter. Drought or flooding can halt miningoperations. Collapse of a shaft or an unexpected rockface result in lossof investment in time, labor, and machinery. Nor is there any guaran-tee that a given area actually holds rich enough gold deposits to justifymining. Historically, gold mining has been a high risk enterprise.These characteristics were present in eighteenth-century MinasGerais. Risk notwithstanding, the lure of high profits resulted in acommon tendency to overinvest and overextend financial resources.The effective working of mines demanded a higher ratio of skilled tounskilled labor than was needed on a plantation. Slave carpenters,

6 This account is based on Paul Ferrand, L'or a Minas Geraes (Bresil) (Belo Horizonte, 1913),I, 21-67; Calogeras, As minas, I, 111-32;Andre JoaoAntonil, Cultura e opulencia do Brasil porsuas drogase .nas. . , edited with a criticalcommentary by Andr&eMansuy(Paris,1968), PartIII, chap. 14. Observations made by John Mawe, Travels in the Interior of Brazil, Particularlyinthe Gold and Diamond Districts (London, 1812) and Richard Burton, Explorations of theHighlands of the Brazil with a Full Account of the Gold and Diamond Mines (London, 1869)supplement von Eschwege's classic Pluto Brasiliensis. As early as 1719 at least one hydraulicmachine was in operation. APMSG, Vol. 12, fol. 75; RAPM, 1 July-Sept. 1896), 420.



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62 Russell-Woodmasons, or smiths were as expensive as they were essential to theminer seeking high yields from lavras. The purchasing medium wasthe product-gold dust. Unlike the planter, however, who could inpart offset higher costs by demanding more for his product, the minerwas powerless to alter the price of gold: in his case the selling pricewas set by the crown. In Minas Gerais the universal practice was tobuy slaves on credit, extending over three to four years, at monthlyinterest rates of as much as ten percent. Collateral took the form ofgold dust. Even successful miners lived in debt to Rio de Janeiromerchants for the purchase of slaves. For the unsuccessful, salvationlay in flight to the sertdo.7A measure in 1752 exempting miners fromthe legally enforced sale of slaves and tools essential to their liveli-hood to satisfy creditors' demands proved a palliative rather than asolution.8 One remedy lay in the greater financial resources andreserves, higher investment potential, and corresponding decrease inrisk which collaborative efforts could have afforded. For reasons thatare not entirely clear, however, this expedient was rarely practiced.9Financial pressure on the miner was exacerbated by royal policiesdirected to the mining areas. The most oppressive concerned collec-tion of the royal "fifth"(quinto) on all gold extracted. No less than 12methods were employed, but all had in common the burden theyplaced on the miner. Collections based on the number of bateias inoperation, or in the form of a capitation tax on slaves engaged inmining, were inflexible. Quotas had to be met, regardless of thesuccess of a miner's speculation-without consideration, for instance,

7 APMSG, Vol. 4, fols. 247, 271v-72; Vol. 11, fols. 50v-53, 271v-72. Protests by the council ofRio de Janeiro that leading buyers conducted all transactions within the customshouse andenjoyed a virtual monopoly on sales, resulting in higher prices, were rejected by royal advisersin the interests of the overall trade. APB, Vol. 49, fols. 100-5; Vol. 50, fols. 211-12. In a letter of7 May 1751 to the king, the Council of Vila Rica provided an insight into prevailing values in themining region: ". . . grande numero de escravos que sdo os bens das Minas sendo certo quemuyta parte destes estao devendo os mesmos escravos que possuem, parecendo no exterior ricoo que na realidade he pobre, e vivendo como pobres muytos que na realidade sao ricos.APMCMOP, Vol. 60, fols. 54v-59v.8 An alvard (1721), described by the governor as "the most blessed law passed for the miningareas," ordered that all slaves to be sold to satisfy creditors should be valued and creditorsobliged to accept them at a just price. APMSG, Vol. 4, fols. 222v-24; Vol. 5, fols. 61v-62; Vol.

16, fols. 85v-86; Vol. 21, fol. 3; Vol. 23, fols. 96-97; Vol. 44, fols. 102v-3; Vol. 46, doc. 34; Vol.63, doc. 37. Also APMCMOP, Vol. 7, fol. 15; Vol. 9, fols. 51v-52v. On the law of 19 February1752, see APMSG, Vol. 35, doc. 178; Vol. 50, fols. 56v-57; APMCMOP, Vol. 9, fols. 50v-51v;Vol. 32, fols. 165v-66v; Vol. 63, fols. 34, 130-31; Vol. 69, fols. 115v-16. In his "Instruceaopara ogoverno da capitania de Minas Gerais" (1780), crown judge Jose Joao Teixeira Coelho ques-tioned the value of this exemption, PIAPM,8 (Jan.-June 1903), 506-8.9 Some "mining societies" were established. APMSG, Vol. 44, fols. 103-4v. Collaborationbetween miners, urged by governor Dom Rodrigo Jose de Meneses (1780), paid off hand-somely, RAPM, 2 (Apr.-June 1897), 313.



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Gold Mining 63of whetherhis slaves had run away, died, or fallen sick duringtheprecedingyear. The establishmentof foundryhouses, to which golddust was taken forsmeltingand the proceedsreturnedto the minerafterremovalof the "fifth",altered the systemof taxation;axes nowvaried in proportion to output, but now the miner faced a newproblem. With the transition from a bateia or capitation system oftaxation to one in which taxes were paid at the foundry houses,creditors began to demand payment in gold on which the "fifth"hadbeen paid. Justificationlay in the fact that debts had been incurredwhen an oitava of gold was valued at 1$500 reis in contrast to 1$200reis under the new system. This policy in effect imposed a 20 percentsurcharge on the miner. Miners also faced delays in processing andpossible attack while travelling to foundry houses. Finally, the differ-ential between the value of gold circulating in Minas Gerais andoutside the mining regions increased the cost of imports.10A gamut of fiscal and administrative policies placed further hard-ship on miners. The king realized that the tools and slaves essential tomining could constitute a source of revenue. The crown's refusal topermit industry in Brazil meant that pickaxes, iron, and gunpowderwere imported. In addition to customs dues, such commodities weresubject to dues on entering the mining areas. Fees calculated onweight or volume, rather than value, were especially heavy on thosecommodities needed by miners. Taxes on slaves exported from thenortheast to the mines, gratuities to officials, fees (usually two oitavasof gold) payable at registers on access routes to Minas Gerais, and theheavy costs of transporting slaves from port cities to the interior, werealso burdens on the miner.1 The price of a male slave on the sugarplantation of Sergipe do Conde in the first decade of the eighteenthcentury did not exceed 130$000 reis. In Salvador the average man-umission price for a male slave peaked at about 200$000 reis in theyears 1715-1719. In comparison, in 1711 in Minas Gerais a primemale slave fetched 300 oitavas. In the 1720s prices ranged between200$000 reis and 300$000 reis, only to soar to 400$000 reis by 1735. Inthe long run such high prices reflected the miners' ability to pay these

10 On the "fifths," see Manoel S. Cardozo, "The Collection of the Fifths in Brazil, 1695-1709,"HAHR, 20 (Aug. 1940), 359-79, and his Alguns subsidies para a hist6ria da cobranpadoquinto na Capitaniade Minas Gerais ate 1735 (Lisbon, 1937). On hardships mposed by this tax,see RAPM, 2 (Apr.-June 1897), 287-309, 320-24; 10 (Jan.-June 1905), 78-82. Impact of fiscalchange on miners is described in APMSG, Vol. 4, fols. 247, 250; Vol. 35, doc. 133; APMCMOP,Vol. 9, fols. 13v-14; Vol. 60, fols. 54v-59v.11 On revenues from import taxes, see Myriam Ellis, Contribuikdo ao estudo do abas-tecimento das areas mineradoras do Brasil no seculo XVIII (Rio de Janeiro, 1961).



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64 Russell-Woodamounts or the labor heyneededbut, in the shortterm,thesepricescouldspell ruinfor manyminers. 2 The uncertaintyof the industryand the high costsof laboraffected he natureof the "peculiarnstitu-tion"in MinasGerais.Laborneeds peculiarto mining, togetherwith the incentives af-forded by gold, created in Minas Gerais in the first half of theeighteenthcenturya societyin which the ratioof whites to blacks,ofslaves o freedmen,and ofmalesto femalesdifferedmarkedlyromthecoastalenclaves. In contrast to the northeastwhere an expandingplantationeconomy had resulted in a gradual ncreasein the slavepopulation, the exploitation of gold was characterizedby an im-mediate demand for a large number of slaves. Some 2,600 slavesannuallyentered MinasGerais n the years 1698-1717, ncreasing o3,500-4,000 for the period 1717-1723,and to 5,700-6,000 over thespan1723-1735.Thistradepeaked n the years 1739-1741withannualimportsof 7,360 slaves,taperingoff to 5,900 in the early1750sandto4,500 by the end of thatdecade.In the 1760sand1770sasthe "goldenage"drew to a close, importsaveraged4,000 slavesannually. Howmanyof the 341,000 slavesenteringMinasGeraisbetween 1698and1770wereemployed n mining s unknown.Thereis no such doubt asto the impact of this sudden influxof slaves on the administration,society, and economyof the region.13Demographicdata on the period prior to 1776 are scanty andshould be consideredmerely as estimates. In 1698 there were noblackslaves in MinasGerais.In 1716-1717slaves declared for pay-ment of the "fifths" otalled 27,909: these increased to 35,094 in1717-1718, and to 34,939 in 1718-1719.A decrease to 31,500 in1719-1720was attributed o minersleaving for new discoveries,re-verse migration o the coastpromptedby uncertaintyover proposedfiscalreforms,bureaucratic egligence, and the failure of masterstoregisterslaves. In 1723, 53,000 slaves capableof workwere regis-tered. This populationremainedstable until 1728. The followingdecade saw substantial ncreases-96,541 in 1735 and 101,607 in1738. Numbers declined to 96,010 in 1739 and to 88,286 a decadelater.The firstcensus to distinguishbetweenfreedmenand slaveswas

12 Antonil, Cultura, PartI, bk. 3, ch. 9 (especially n.3) and PartIII, ch. 7; Stuart B. Schwartz,"The Manumission of Slaves in Colonial Brazil: Bahia, 1684-1745," HAHR, 54 (Nov. 1974),628-29; Gomes Freire de Andrada to king, 29 December 1735, APMSG, Vol. 47, fols. 17-18.13 Estimates based on Mauricio Goulart, Escraviddo aficana no Brasil (Das origens aextintao do trafico) (Sdo Paulo, 1949), pp. 149-54, 164-66.



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Gold Mining 65made in 1786, by which time a more balanced economy based onagriculture had been established. A total of 174,135 slaves wasrecorded in the captaincy.14

A particulardemographic feature of Minas Gerais was the intensiveconcentration of slaves in small areas. The towns of Vila Rica and Vilado Carmo and their immediate environs accounted for 50 percent andmore of the total slave population of the captaincy.15 Within thesemunicipalities the distribution of slaves was irregular. In 1719 some3,500 slaves (46 percent of the overall slave population)were workingthe hillside rich in gold outside Vila Rica known as the Morro dePaschoal da Silva. In 1737 over 5,000 slaves were concentrated on theMorro de Santa Ana near Vila do Carmo.16 Large numbers of in-adequately supervised slaves in close proximity to townships consti-tuted a threat to the enforcement of law and order and were viewed as14 On the 1720 decrease, see APMSG, Vol. 11, fols. 244v-47v, 287v-88v. The 1723 figure isbased on Council of Vila Rica to king, 22 December 1723, APMCMOP, Vol. 9, fols. 9v-10v. A"head count" in 1728, for a "voluntary" contribution to royal marriages, placed the slavepopulation at 52,348. APMSG, Vol. 24, fols. 4-7; APMDF, Vol. 47, fols. 64v-66v. Figures for

1716-20 are based on capitation records (APMSG, Vol. 11, fols. 275-76, 280-81, 287v-88v):allowance must be made for discrepancies in the counting of slaves belonging to clerics. Overallestimates are based on Goulart, Escraviduo, pp. 139-45. His figure for Sabara in 1723 (9,488)should be modified upwards and based on the 1720 capitation (8,031) instead of that for 1718(which reads 5,771 and not 5,721). Ibid., p. 140, n. 28. See also APMSG, Vol. 11, fols. 280-81;Vol. 13, fols. 25v-27, and APMDF, Vol. 44, fols. 13v-15. This brings his estimate of 50,000 morein line with the 53,000 reported above.15 Slave Concentrations

1716-17 1717-18 1718-19 1719-20 1728Vila do Carmo 6,834 10,974 10,937 9,812 17,376Vila Rica 6,271 7,110 7,708 7,653 11,521Vila Real 4,905 5,712 5,771 4,902 7,014Sao Joao 3,051 2,282 2,216 1,868 3,448Sao Jose 1,393 1,324 1,184 5,419Vila Nova 3,848 4,347 4,478 4,051 4,791Principe 3,000 2,096 2,090 1,671 1,934Pitangui 283 415 359 845Clerics' slaves 897 (included in overall totals above)

27,909 35,094 34,939 31,500 52,348Sources: APMSG, Vol. 11, fols. 275-76v, 280-81, 287v-88v; Vol. 24, fols. 4-7; APMDF, Vol. 47,fols. 64v-66v.In 1743 the two matriculas for the five intendencies recorded respectively: Vila Rica-21,643and 21,746; Vila do Carmo-25,495 and 24,820; Sabara-22,148 and 22,740; Rio das Mortes-15,380 and 15,340; Serro Frio-8,009 and 7,513; Sertao-895 (one matricula). Source: RAPM, 2(July-Sept. 1897), 485.

16 APMSG, Vol. 11, fols. 118-19, 130-33v; Vol. 44, fols. 151-56v.



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66 Russell-Woodbreedinggrounds orpossible slave revolt.Thisfearwascompoundedby a furthercharacteristic f the slaves n MinasGerais-great physi-cal mobility as they accompanied heir masters or pursued miningactivities as faiscadores. Despite attempts at making such slavesaccountableo the authorities, here wasalwaysa largefloatingpopu-lation in MinasGerais.There was also a substantialpopulationof free blacks and freemulattos.Manumissions esulted from the ease with which slavescouldacquiregolddustto buy themselvesout ofbondageor fromthewidespreadpracticeof white minerstakingslaves as concubinesandgrantinga carta de alforriato the concubineand her offspring.7 Inthe years 1735-1749, orros accounted for less than 1.4 percent ofpersonsof Africanoriginin the captaincy.By 1786forros made up41.4 percent of such persons and 34 percentof the total population.This dramatic ncrease may have been the result of humanitarianimpulses. Researchhas yet to be done for Minas Gerais on slavesobtaining heir freedomby purchase,but declining gold productionplaced manyminersin the positionwhere returns rom panningdidnot offset the cost of upkeep. Manumissionof slaves by purchasebecamefinanciallyexpedient to masters.18Because much of the earlierdemographicdata is based on fiscalrecords,moreinformations availableon blacksandmulattos hanonwhite settlers.Perhaps n no other regionofcolonialBrazil n thefirsthalf of the eighteenth centurydid persons of Africanoriginso out-number whites. The racial mbalanceof earlierdecades becamelessaccentuated s the centuryprogressedand MinasGeraisbecamelessofa "hardship"reaforcolonization. mmigrationo Braziloffamiliesfrom Portugaland the Atlantic slands ncreased.The census of 1776stillrecorded,however, that personsofAfricandescent made up 77.9percent of the adultpopulationof the captaincy 319,769).19A final demographicfeature attributable o the labor needs ofminingwas the predominantlymalepopulation.For the firstthirdofthe eighteenthcentury,white migrationwas almostexclusivelymale.Those few fathers who did have daughtersof marriageable ge dis-

17 See the dire predictions of Assumar to the king, 28 November 1719, APMSG, Vol. 4, fols.238-39.18 Goulart, Escraviddo, pp. 141-45, 158, 169; Edison Carneiro, Ladinos e crioulos (Estudoss6bre o negro no Brasil) (Rio de Janeiro, 1964), pp. 22-23.19 On the demography of Minas Gerais, see Dauril Alden, "The Population of Brazil in theLate Eighteenth Century: A PreliminaryStudy," HAHR, 43 (May 1963), 180-83, 188. The 1776census (published in RAPM, 2 [1897], 511 and Publica96es do Arquivo Nacional, 9 [1909], 73)recorded 70,664 whites and 249,105 blacks and mulattos.



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Gold Mining 67patched them to convents in Portugal or Madeira.20With the declinein mining, the establishment of a more balanced economy, and great-er security for potential settlers, the white female population of thecaptaincy increased. By 1776 the sex ratio among the white popula-tion of 1,339 males to one thousand females does not distinguishMinas Gerais radically from the coastal enclaves. During the earlypart of the century, however, male predominance was characteristicof the black as well as the white populations. Miners' needs for maleslaves may have accentuated the sexual imbalance of the Atlanticslave trade, generally accepted at two to one in favor of males,especially during the years of greatest mining production.2' In Sal-vador drastic increases in the price of male slaves, directly attributa-ble to mining needs, were not matched by corresponding increases inthe cost of female slaves. Records of slaves entering Minas Geraissuggest a numerical predominance of males. This is confirmed by thefiscal records. In 1719 on the heavily mined Morro of Vila Rica, 91percent of the slave population was male. All but one of the 77 slavesof Captain Paulo Rodrigues Durdo, a miner in the parish of In-ficionado, were male. Master of the Field Paschoal da Silva, a power-ful personality in Vila Rica in 1719, possessed 48 slaves of whom onlytwo or three were female.22 It appears that miners with limitedcapital bought males rather than females; the proportion of femaleswas larger in the holdings of more prosperous miners. Only with thecensus of 1776 are figures available on the sexual composition of thepopulation. This census did not distinguish between slaves andfreedmen. In the overall population of people of African descent(249,105), 63.4 percent were male. Within the category of blacks(pretos)117,171 or 70.2 percent were male. In contrast, among mulat-tos (pardos) there was a female majority: 41,317 females, 40,793males. The 1786 census, the first indicating distinctions based onpigmentation, sex, and civil status, shows that 58.7 percent (16.4percent pardos; 42.3 percent pretos) of the colored population(297,183) was male. Among total slaves (174,135), 66.8 percent weremale. But, with the exception of the single category of black slaves

20 This was a frequent topic in gubernatorial correspondence. APMSG, Vol. 20, doc. 158;Vol. 23, fols. 6, 101, 109v-110; Vol. 32, fols. 86v-88, 105.21 The 1776 census recorded 41,677 males and 28,987 females. Cf. Thales de Azevedo,Povoanento da Cidade do Salvador, 2nd. ed. (Sao Paulo, 1955), pp. 184-206; Philip D. Curtin,The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census (University of Wisconsin Press, 1969), pp. 19, 28, 46.22 This percentage is based on figures-931 males, 97 females-for that part of the Morro inthe district of Ant6nio Dias. APMDF, Vol. 39, fols. 49v-108v. Cf. Vol. 35, fol. 134 and Vol. 39,fol. 79v.



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68 Russell-Wood(106,412 males; 47,347 females), there was a female majority amongpersons of African descent (free mulattos-38,808 males, 41,501females; slave mulattos-9,879 males, 10,497 females; free blacks-19,441 males, 23,298 females). Free female mulattos comprised thelargest segment (22 percent) of the free population in the captaincy.23Despite incomplete data, some general conclusions may be drawnconcerning the demography of Minas Gerais. There was a dramaticincrease in the slave population until the late 1730s, after which adecline in both imports and slave population corresponded approxi-mately to the declining prosperity of the mining community. In theearly decades the population of Minas Gerais was predominantlymale. The shortage of white women, viewed as the prime cause forconcubinage and social instability in the captaincy, appears to havebeen matched by a disproportionately small percentage of blackfemales. This imbalance was redressed in the course of the century,and the dramatic increase in the free colored population after mid-century was noteworthy. More mulattos than blacks gained theirfreedom, and among mulattos, females predominated. The demog-raphy of Minas Gerais in the eighteenth century was determined bythe discovery and exploitation of gold deposits, the special demandsof the industry, and the uniqueness of gold dust as an instrument forsocial mobility. As a result, the composition of the slave populationdiffered from that of the Brazilian littoral.The ethnic origins of slaves in Minas Gerais were almost as diverseas in the coastal enclaves, ranging from Amerindians, Chinese, andoccasional Europeans, to a host of African "nations." In the miningarea, however, there was a predominance of slaves from the Bight ofBenin, the so-called Costa da Mina. "Minas"were held to be betterworkers, more resilient to disease, and stronger than Angolan slaves.Such qualities were in demand by planters and miners, but the latterhad the edge because of their ability to afford higher prices and makepayment in gold dust. In 1726 the viceroy reported that Angolanslaves were reputed to be unsuitable for anything but domesticlabor.24 Miners' demands stimulated the slave trade from the Costada Mina to the point that, during the first three decades of the

3 Population figures for 1786, 1805, 1808, and 1821 are published in RAPM, 4 (1899),294-96.2' Sabugosa to king, 23 February 1726, APB, Vol. 20, doc. 105a. This was a widely expressedcharacterisationof "Minas," see A. J. R. Russell-Wood, Fidalgos and Philanthropists. The SantaCasa da Miseric6rdia of Bahia, 1550-1755 (University of California Press, 1968), pp. 51, 68;APB, Vol. 14, doe. 49; APMSG, Vol. 5, fol. 108; Vol. 11, fols. 130-33v; Vol. 29, doe. 3; Antonil,Cultura, Part I, bk. 1, ch. 9.



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Gold Mining 69eighteenth century, imports of "Minas" exceeded Angolans.25 Therecords of slaves entering Minas Gerais confirm this general pattern,with most of the "Minas" going to the areas of greatest miningintensity. In 1718 in the parish of Guarapiranga there were 1,055slaves, of whom 432 were "Minas"and only 245 Angolans. On part ofthe Morro of Vila Ricaa total of 1,028 slaves was recorded in 1719: 598"Minas" and 248 Angolans. Preferences could depend on an indi-vidual master's whims or needs, but until the 1730s active minerstended to favor "Minas."26The resulting ethnic division was keenly enough felt to depriveslaves of commonality of purpose, even in the struggle for freedom. In1725 Dom Jodo V noted that a slave uprising had failed largelybecause Angolans and "Minas"could not countenance a member ofthe rival "nation"as leader.27The designations "Angola"and "Mina"illustrated the European practice of describing slaves either by ethnicor linguistic generalizations, or by detailing ports of origin, physicalattributes, or acquired skills. Despite imprecision, by their veryvariety (some 50 terms) such designations underscored the culturalheterogeneity of the Africanslaves. The individuality of their heritagewas consciously preserved in the New World.28 In 1719 Assumarobserved that once slave women gained their cartas de alforria, theyused their newly acquired freedom to set up shops which served asmeeting places for blacks of their "nation." Some black brotherhoods,whether slave or free, limited membership to those of a commonlinguistic or ethnic background. Such ties were strengthened by theinstitution of compadrazgo. In the choice of "godfather" and "god-mother" at baptisms and weddings, slaves preferred participants ofthe same "nation." Should such persons have gained distinction inAfrica, or be of respected lineage, they were all the more in de-mand.29

25 Estimates in Curtin, Atlantic Slave Trade, pp. 205-10 and tables 62, 63. See also PierreVerger, Bahia and the West Coast Trade (1549-1851) (Ibadan, 1964) and Flux et reflux de latraite des negres entre le Golfe de Benin et Bahia de Todos os Santos du XViie au XVIIIes-ecle(Paris and the Hague, 1968).26 APMDF, Vol. 22; Vol. 39, fols. 49v-108v; the term "Mina"is defined in Curtin, Atlantic

Slave Trade, pp. 208-9.27 APMSG, Vol. 5, fol. 108.28 On ethnic origins, see APMDF, especially Vols. 19-39. For Bahia, see Carlos B. Ott,Forma~do e evolupdo ktnica da Cidade do Salvador (Salvador, 1955-1957), I, 53-75 and II,appendix 3; cf. Frederick P. Bowser, The African Slave in Colonial Peru, 1524-1650 (StanfordUniversity Press, 1974), pp. 39-44.29 APMSG, Vol. 4, fols. 238-39; Vol. 11, fol. 184. On brotherhoods, see A. J. R. Russell-Wood, "Blackand Mulatto Brotherhoods in Colonial Brazil: A Study in Collective Behavior,"HAHR, 54 (Nov. 1974), especially 579-81.



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70 Russell-WoodThis evidence of African consciousness does not distinguish themining areasfrom the Brazilianlittoral. While much research remainsto be done on cultural assimilation in the New World between blacks

of different African origins, two circumstances suggest that such as-similation may have been less rapidly achieved in Minas Gerais thanin the port cities or plantation societies of Brazil. Gold mining de-manded slaves at the peak of physical strength, generally regarded assynonymous with adulthood. Children were not shipped from Angolain significant numbers in the eighteenth century. Spasmodic refer-ences suggest that children and infants comprised an even smallerproportion of slave imports from the Costa da Mina.30 This predomi-nantly adult export pattern was probably a response to mining needs,especially during the first decades of the century. Secondly, manyslaves whose final destination was Minas Gerais were the linguisti-cally and culturally distinctive victims of Asante expansion in thisperiod. Many languages comprising the Kwa-Krulinguistic group (towhich the "Minas"belonged) were unintelligible to persons from thatsame linguistic group; nor, as a major language group, were theKwa-Kruintelligible to speakers of languages in the Benue-Cross andBantu groups.31 Cultural and linguistic barriers to assimilation be-tween blacks in Portuguese America were unusually strong in MinasGerais, and were the product of the peculiar labor needs of goldmining. In 1719 Assumar observed that most slaves arrived in MinasGerais already adults, and that they spoke a variety of languages andhad the utmost difficulty in learning Portuguese. At the sale of a20-year-old "escravo bugre" in 1736, it was noted that although hewas a "Mina"not even other slaves could understand him.32 The slowassimilative process between blacks in the mining areas may accountfor a more pronounced tendency to marry along ethnic lines. Onlytardily, it seems, did Portuguese gain widespread acceptance inMinas Gerais as a lingua franca.Only with the passage of time and thedevelopment of a more ethnically balanced slave population (with thedecrease in "Mina" imports) was there greater assimilation betweenblacks in Minas Gerais in the course of the century.33

30 Herbert S. Klein, "The Portuguese Slave Trade from Angola in the Eighteenth Century,"THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY, 32 (Dec. 1972), 903-5. Slaves dispatched by thecustomshouse in Salvador from January 1736 to May 1737 numbered: Angolans-6,064 adults,41 infants; "Minas"-4,528 adults, 3 infants. APB, Vol. 33, docs. 71a, 71b.

31 Daryll Forde, "The Cultural Map of West Africa: Successive Adaptations to TropicalForests and Grasslands,"Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, Ser. 11, Vol. 15(Apr. 1953), 208-10; Joseph H. Greenberg, The Languages of Africa (Bloomington, 1963), pp.6-42.32 APMSG, Vol. 4, fols. 231v-32, 234v; APMDF, Vol. 19, fol. 58.3 Percentage decrease of"Minas"by decades was as follows: 1711-20, 60.2 percent; 1721-30,



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Gold Mining 71Whereas the slave family in the plantation society of colonial Brazilhas received extensive treatment, the slave family in mining areas hasbeen largely ignored. The predominantly narrative nature ofsources precludes quantitative analysis. The following generalizationsare limited to considerations of the slave family in so far as it may havebeen affected by mining. Most evident is the low incidence of mar-riage among slaves (or, for that matter, among the overall population).This is directly attributable to the demographic composition of MinasGerais and to the economic pressures and opportunities of mining. Inthe first third of the century, there were hardly any white women anda shortage of black women. Inter-racial concubinage was the norm.One result of such miscegenation was a disproportionately large freemulatto sector in Minas Gerais. Crown measures failed to woo whiteminers from slave doxies. Assumar sardonically observed that covet-ousness and concupiscence were happy bedfellows and that such arole in no way decreased the value of a female slave. Concubinageafforded to the female slave greater security than would marriageto aslave. Moreover, her prospects of manumission were enhanced.Should a master fail to grant her freedom gratuitously, he couldnevertheless serve as a protector against official harassment in hervending activities, gold panning, or even prostitution. For the con-cubine, no less than for the single female slave, gold could spellfreedom.35Other factors further discouraged slave marriages in the miningareas. Cost and ecclesiastical red tape militated against the institu-tion. The creation of an episcopal see at Mariana (1745) did not curb

clerical rapacity. Exorbitant charges were levied for all services,regardless of the civil status of the participant. Slaves preferred to usetheir meager gleanings for Catholic burial rather than sanctifiedunion; some deposited their gold dust in trust with a storekeeper forthe purchase of freedom. Ecclesiastical requirements for proof that aslave was single and for other documentation often proved to beinsuperable obstacles. Not until his visit to Vila Rica in 1753, did thefirst bishop of Marianagrant to slaves, natives of the parish of Antonio54.1 percent; 1731-40, 34.2 percent; 1741-50, 29.7 percent; 1751-60, 27.1 percent; 1761-70,23.5 percent. Source: Curtin, Atlantic Slave Trade, table 62.

34 Donald Ramos has written a pioneering study, based on the 1804 census in Vila Rica-"Marriage and the Family in Colonial Vila Rica," HAHR, 55 (May, 1975), 200-25.35 Russell-Wood, "Colonial Brazil," in David W. Cohen and JackB. Greene, editors, NeitherSlave nor Free. The Freedman of African Descent in the Slave Societies of the New World (TheJohns Hopkins University Press, 1972), pp. 89-90, 94-96, 111-13; Assumar to king, 28November 1719, APMSG, Vol. 4, fols. 238-39. In 1747 the attorney of the Miseric6rdia referredto protected "escravas da sociedade" in blackmarket activities. APMCMOP, Vol. 54, fol. 3.



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72 Russell-WoodDias, the right to marry in the parish church or associated churcheswithout first obtaining a special provisao. Publication of the banns,permission of the parish priest, and payment of the customaryfees forthese services were the only requirements.36Human and economic factorsalso militated against slave marriages.There is evidence to suggest that masters discouraged marriagesbetween slaves, and especially between slaves and freedmen.Whereas on plantations marriage had been viewed as a vehicle forstabilizing male slaves and contributing to an increase in slave hold-ings, mining dictated a different set of criteria. Spatial mobility was acharacteristic of the industry and single male slaves were preferred.Slave procreation increased neither the capital holdings of the masternor his effective labor force because of the unsuitability of child laborin mining. Loss of productivity by the mother (albeit temporary) andincreased costs of sustenance made slave births financially disadvan-tageous to the miner. Moreover, instability, insecurity, and mobilityof mining communities discouraged the slaves no less than whitesfrom forming lasting ties.A by-blow of this set of circumstances was a high incidence ofchildren who were technically illegitimate, or were deserted by theirmothers. Prostitution thrived in the mining townships and was en-couraged by the owners and storekeepers who viewed it as an addi-tional source of revenue. The upkeep of foundlings, be they white,black, or mulatto, imposed a heavy financialburden on town councils.Proposals for establishing a special tax for the creation of a foundlingwheel in the 1790s were suspended, pending royal approval. Concernthat such illegitimate children received no education prompted DomJoAoV, in 1721, to propose that each municipality should appoint amaster, whose salary would be paid by the fathers, to teach Latin,reading, writing, and counting. While promising compliance, thegovernor was pessimistic because "they are without exception thechildren of black women, and previous experience throughout Brazilhas shown them to be incapable of benefiting from instruction."37An early commentator on the "peculiarinstitution"was the acerbic,brilliant, and outspoken count of Assumar, who never tired of dis-coursing on the slackness of slavery in Minas Gerais. In 1719 thegovernor noted "the unusual liberty which blacks enjoy in this cap-

36 APMDF, Vol. 73, fols. 7v-llv; Ramos, "Marriage," pp. 212-13.37 Feu de Carvalho, "InstrucVaop6blica. Primeiras aulas e escolas de Minas Gerais, 1721-1860," RAPM, 24 (1933), 347-48; on foundlings, see APMCMOP, Vol. 12, fols. 42, 118-20, 144,147v48; Vol. 61.



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Gold Mining 73taincy in comparison with the rest of America; there can be no doubtthat the manner in which they live today can not be considered trueslavery but may more appropriately be termed licentious liberty." In1720 he forbad the traditional coronation of a king and a queen byblacksin Serro do Frio, observing that "suchan act and ceremony wastotally at variance with the meanness of their condition as slaves inwhich they must be kept." Assumar held that blacks had beenbrought from Africa to mine for gold and should be kept in "subjec-tion without the slightest liberty." Any deviation constituted a threatto law and order, impaired the royal revenues, and was an affront tosociety.38 His comments may be taken as a point de depart for a studyof slavery in the mining regions.Gold mining imposed severe physical demands on a slave. Panningdemanded immersion up to the waist in icy streams, while the upperbody was exposed to the heat of the sun. Slaves working in suchconditions were highly susceptible to sun poisoning, with vomitingand fever chills, followed by acute dysentery, and kidney diseases.Pleurisy and pneumonia took longer to develop. Intermittent feversand malaria were commonplace, the product of panning in stagnantwater diverted from main streams or in river beds dried out afterfloods.39In the early 1730s in the Carlos Marinho mines, the combi-nation of heat, water, and "corrupted airs" caused 6,000 deathsamong whites and blacks in a few months.40 Accidents and deathscaused by fall-ins, and pulmonary infections resulting fromworking ininadequately ventilated tunnels, were hazards faced by slaves insubterranean galleries.4' In such conditions, physical deteriorationwas rapid and the incidence of slave mortality high. Estimates as to aslave's useful working life in mining varied. In 1774 the councillors ofVila do Carmo placed it at ten years; a decade earlier acting governorMartinho de Mendonpa stated that the miners expected twelve yearsworkfrom their slaves. Contemporaries agreed that overworkwas theprime cause of such short working lives. Writing up the narrative of ajourney through Minas Gerais in 1800, Dr. Jose Vieira Couto ob-served that a miner could expect 50 percent mortality among hisslaves after ten years, and that the survivors were physically in-adequate for heavy labor. Not only was the working life of the slave in

38 APMSG, Vol. 11, fols. 170-71, 282v-84, 288v.39 von Eschwege, Pluto, Part III, ch. 5; "Memoria hist6rica da capitania de Minas Geraes"(anon.), RAPM, 2 July-Sept. 1897), 435. The basic medical treatise is Luis Gomes Ferreira'sErario Mineral (Lisbon, 1735)-see Boxer, Golden Age, pp. 184-87.40 APMSG, Vol. 55, fols. 146v-48v.41 Safety regulations of 1726 and 1728 were ineffectual. APMSG, Vol. 27, fols. 26, 45v-46.



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74 Russell-Woodagriculture onger, but procreationreplenishedthe slave holdingsmore frequently.The councillorsof Vila do Carmonotedthat minersworkedslaves to the bone and were unableto affordreplacements.42

Suchpressurescontributed o the high incidenceof diseaseamongslaves. The captaincywasblessed with a healthyclimateandplentifulvariety of game, fish, fruits, and crops. By law, slaveswere grantedSundaysand holy daysfor the cultivation f their ownplots,but thereis ampleevidence that mastersworked heir slaves nporterageor thecultivation of smallholdingson such days.43 Masterscut costs byfailing to provide adequate sustenance. Sickness was causedby thesale of rotten pork to slaves afterwhites had refused to buy it.44 Theeffect of maniocmealon slaveswas the subjectof a medicalenquiry n1733. This resulted in a gubernatorial dict prohibiting he sale offuba, as it was popularlyknown, on two grounds: irst, because itoften containedchips fromthe milling stones; secondly,becausenoyeast had been added and it was uncooked, the fubd lay in thestomach n a congealedmass. Manioccould be lethalunless properlyprocessed soaking nd shredding, ollowedby heating) o reduce theprussicacid content of the roots to safe amounts.Whenthis was notdone, slaves fell victim to lesions of the intestinal tract.45Mastersresortedto two expedientsto cut feeding costs andprovide the slavewith the illusion,if not the reality,of greaterresistance o hardship.Tobaccowas held to possess curativeproperties,and alsoto be a foodsubstitute"because here is many a blackwho prefershis tobaccotofood;whereas ood is available nlytwice a day, a chew of tobaccocanbe madeto last the whole day."46 obaccodidindeed possess stimula-tive properties,but the same could not be saidfor sugarcane brandy.The beliefs of the age in its magicalqualitieswere well expressedbygovernorDom RodrigoJose de Meneses in 1780:"cachaga . . is abeverageof prime importance or slaves, who spend the whole dayimmersed in water, and who, with the aid of cacha~acan resist thephysical duress, and live healthier and longer lives; experience has42 Council of Carmo to King, 17 October 1744, RAPM, 2 (Apr.-June 1897), 289-92; JoseVieira Couto, "Memoria sobre as minas da Capitania de Minas Geraes," RAPM, 10 (Jan.-June

1905), 78. The lowest estimate was seven years. Boxer, Golden Age, p. 174.43 APMSG, Vol. 4, fol. 234v." On food costs, see Antonil, Cultura, Part III, ch. 7; Goulart, Escravidao, pp. 134-36.Municipal edicts on hygiene were numerous-for example, APMCMOP, Vol. 6, fols. 42,47 andVol. 54, fol. 177 inter alia.45 APMCMOP, Vol. 6, fols. 183v-90v;Vol. 32, fol. 229v;Vol. 33, fols. 5-6, 63-64; Vol. 43, fol.25v; Vol. 49, fols. 48, 56v-57.di ... por haver preto q' antes qr uzar do seu fumo q' do comer por ser este duas vezes nodia e aquelle continue . . .", APMSG, Vol. 59, fols. 60-61.



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Gold Mining 75shown that the master who fails to provide his slaves with cachavasuffers a higher incidence of slave mortality, than the master whoencourages and fortifies his slaves in this manner."47Medical assistance was less readily available for slaves in MinasGerais than in the coastal enclaves. Suspicion that friars were in-volved with contraband gold led the crown (1711) to prohibit theirpresence in the mining areas, unless duly authorized. Nor werereligious orders permitted to establish monasteries in Minas Gerais.The mining regions were thus deprived of the social philanthropyandmedical assistance to all sectors of the community, including slaves,provided by such orders in the coastal cities. Quack doctors reapedthe benefit of a dearth of trained physicians in Minas Gerais. In 1735the governor wrote that even the rich died unaided because the onlymedical assistance was provided by slave "barbers."Only in 1734 wasa municipal surgeon appointed in Vila Rica. Both he and the munici-pal doctor were supposed to provide free medical services for theneedy, but they failed to meet their obligations as regarded slaves.48The establishment of a Santa Casa da Misericordia in 1738 contrib-uted little to the availability of medical assistance in Vila Rica.Financial straits prevented this branch from providing the wide-ranging hospital and medical assistance for slaves made available byits counterpart in Salvador. Finally, the high prices of medicines,many of whose ingredients were imported, placed them beyond themeans of many miners. In all cases the slave was the loser.On balance, slave productivity was not very high in gold mining.This resulted primarily from the nature of the industry, rather thanfrom the tendency of slaves to run away, fall sick, or become intoxi-cated. Water was the key to mining. A variety of seasonal, technical,and legal factors could affect its availability. Maximum gold produc-tion and optimum use of slave labor was in the rainy season;providentminers conserved water for the drier months to keep slavesemployed, albeit less productively. Drought or torrential rainsparalyzed the industry. Excessive water turbulence made panningimpossible, and destroyed dams, aqueducts and hydraulic machinesessential to the lavras. Hardest hit were owners of lavras, who mayhave been tempted to overinvest to be eligible for the exemptionfrom legally enforced sale of tools and slaves enjoyed by miners

47 RAPM, 2 (Apr.-June 1897), 317.48 Gomes Freire de Andrada to king, 30 August 1735, APMSG, Vol. 46, doc. 54. TheFrenchman Ant6nio Labedrene was the first appointee. APMCMOP, Vol. 28, fols. 137-38;Vol.33, fols. 53v-54v; Vol. 32, fol. 179; Vol. 107, fols. 257v-58v, 263v-65.



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76 Russell-Woodpossessing 30 or more slaves. Other technical factors also resulted inunderutilizationof slave labor. Greatest yield was on the hillsides, butthe construction of lavras demanded heavy financial investment.Until this was available, slaves were usually employed in underpro-ductive tasks such as digging gravel out of the hillsides and carryingitto the nearest water source, or laying out the gravel on the hillside todry (when it would be possible to blow away the dust from the heaviergold), or simply panning where there was water and being contentwith diminished returns. Legal disputes over claims also frequentlyhalted mining. Quarrels between guarda mores and crown judgesover jurisdiction were rife and resulted in production on part of theMorros of Vila Rica and Sdo Jodo del Rei being brought to a standstillin 1731.49Disputed mining concessions, contested water rights, andrefusals to grant access to water could only be finally settled in thehigh court in Salvador. Settling of legacies was delayed by "provedorsof the dead and absent" who froze the assets of an estate pendingpayment of all debts. Until such legal wrangles had been resolved,the slave force remained inactive and unproductive.50 In general,then, the inability of the miners to keep their slaves fully employedlimited the productivity of the work force.The degree of freedom enjoyed by slaves in Minas Gerais wasdetermined by different mining practices. On lavras slaves worked ina prescribed area, and were usually under the direct supervision of afactor. Every effort was taken to ensure that such slaves had littlefreedom of action and few opportunities to acquire gold dust. Shouldland be available, slave quarters(senzala)were built near to the lavra.Strict measures were taken to protect the heavy investment suchslaves represented to the master and to improve slave productivity.In contrast, the slave faiscador enjoyed great physical freedom andhad the means, opportunity, and motivation to buy his carta dealforria. One form of agreement between slave and master guaran-teed delivery to the master every Saturdayof a specified amount ofgold dust and exempted him from responsibility for the upkeep of theslave. In return, the slave enjoyed freedom of action during the week

49 APMSG, Vol. 4, fol. 224v; Vol. 35, doe. 105.50 Abuses included the division of otherwise economically viable operations, and thepiecemeal sale of slaves, equipment, and concessions for a fraction of their true value. APMSG,Vol. 4, fols. 222v-24; APMCMOP, Vol. 7, fols. 59-61v; Vol. 9, fol. 1v;Vol. 37, fols. 48v-50; Vol.65, fols. 271-72v; APB, Vol. 11, docs. 93, 94. Teixeira Coelho listed the division of miningproperties as one cause of decline, "Instrucoao,- 508-11. A typical case involved Jorge Azere ofPitangui in 1737. Pending a court ruling, Azere petitioned for access to water denied him byFelippe de Lacontria, alleging that otherwise 50 to 60 slaves would be idle. APMSG, Vol. 59,fol. 27.



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Gold Mining 77and was free to cultivate his own plot of land on Sundays.51 Slavefaiscadores roamed the mining areas in search of areas to pan andwere a constant threat to law and order. Failing to find suitablestreams, they sometimes resorted to excavating in the streets of themining towns or digging out riverbanks, thereby endangering thefoundations of bridges. Slave women also had considerable freedom,on the pretext of speculating for gold. Unscrupulous masters dis-patched female slaves to pan for gold, but failed to give them even apick. At week's end the master demanded her takings, fully awarethat these had been gained by prostitution rather than panning. Avariant was the legal agreement between master and a female slavethat she would be coartada, namely that she was obliged to pay withina specified time an amount of gold mutually agreed upon by bothparties, or continue in bondage. Such female slaves roamed themining areas, culling gold dust from every possible source.52 Mastersran high risks in granting such freedom to their slaves: having squan-dered their takings on drink, food, or women, many fled, rather thanface an irate miner.Not only did the slave in the mining areas have an unusual degree ofphysical freedom as afaisqueiro, but many may have possessed thetechnical knowledge to exploit gold mining for their personal advan-tage. The characterization of the average Portuguese migrant toMinas Gerais as a person who stopped in a port city only long enoughto buy a horse contained more than an element of truth.53 For themost part, European migrants did not have any prior experience ofgold mining. This was reflected in the absence of technical innovationin Minas Gerais and was especially serious insofaras the miners wereunable to exploit the veins fully. In contrast, some "Mina" slaves hadprior knowledge not only of gold mining, but of metallurgy."Minas"was a broad designation used by the Portuguese for slavesacquired on the "Costa da Mina", a vaguely defined area which at itswidest extent ranged from Cape Palmasto the Cameroons, embracingthe Ivory, Gold, and Slave Coasts respectively. Although the Por-tuguese did purchase some slaves on the Gold Coast, where they paid10 percent duty to the Dutch at ElMina on all imported trade goods,the bulk of their trade was on the Bight of Benin in the ports of Grand

51 APMSG, Vol. 44, fols. 106v-07.52 APMSG, Vol. 35, doe. 110; Vol. 50, fols. 80-82v, 90-96v; Schwartz, "Manumission,"627-28.53 In a 1753 report the chancellor of the high court of Bahianoted that prior to the discoveryof gold, migrantshad been satisfied to settle as factors or bursars on plantations, or be employedas cowboys; the exploitation of gold had disrupted this pattern. APB, Vol. 50, fols. 305v, 311.



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78 Russell-WoodPopo, Jaquim, Apa, and above all at Ouidah where they established atrading fort in 1721. "Minas" slaves originated from areas whereknowledge of gold mining and metallurgy was highly developed. Theeconomy of the great Akan states was built on gold, and gold dust wasthe internal currency. Shaft mining and alluvial washing were prac-ticed and the Adansi and Denkyira peoples dug thousands of goldholes along the banks of the Ofin River and were experienced inexploiting high and low level gravel terraces. Jean Barbot, the Frenchagent general who visited the Bight of Benin in the late seventeenthcentury, noted three aspects of especial relevance to this study: first,the richness of the gold deposits, especially in Denkyira; secondly,the high technical skill of the blacksmiths and goldsmiths; thirdly, thegreat dexterity shown in debasing gold by mixing the dust with silver,copper, or iron filings, a skill Barbot claimed had originally beentaught to the Africans by the Portuguese. The Basari and Tombondistricts, Mion-Sambu to Bimbilla, and Dagbon, the Muslim statenorth of the forest area, were majoriron mining and smelting regions.During the first quarter of the eighteenth century, Asante expansionextended to the western areas of present-day Ghana and to theeastern part of the Ivory Coast. Other slaves were the victims of anexpanding Oyo empire and originated from Yoruba-speaking regions.Ife had traditionally been the cradle of metallurgical skills,exemplified by its highest artform in the casting of bronze by the "lostwax" method. Within Benin City blacksmiths and bronze casterslived in special wards and enjoyed certain prerogatives. In the castingof both bronze and brass great technical control was achieved, show-ing a highly sophisticated knowledge of the proportions of the con-stituent metals and of iron, nickel, zinc and tin. Slaves taken on suchexpeditions were sold to the Dutch, English, and Portuguese.54It was precisely such slaves, the "Minas,"who were in demand byBrazilian miners and who predominated in Minas Gerais during theheyday of gold production. In Minas they were prominent asgoldsmiths and blacksmiths, pursuing these vocations legally. Lesslegal was the mixing of tin and copper filings with gold dust, which

54 This account is based on Jean Barbot, Description of the Coasts of North and South Guinea. . . (London, 1746), bk. III, chs. 4, 11, 17, 18, 20; E. L. R. Meyerowitz, The Sacred State of theAkan (London, 1951) pp. 198-205; R. S. Rattray, Ashanti (London, 1923), pp. 300-15; Philip J.C. Dark, An Introduction to Benin Art and Technology (Oxford, 1973). In 1816 the Dutchgovernor-general in ElMina observed that the slave trade had contributed to the drasticreduction in gold diggers. See Ivor Wilks, Asante in the Nineteenth Century. The Structure andEvolution of a Political Order (Cambridge University Press, 1975), pp. 679; cf. pp. 244-45,434-36.



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Gold Mining 79they did with great skill, burnishing the final product so that onlyassaying could reveal the fraud. It was also alleged that slaves artifi-cially altered the color of inferior black gold to make it appear morevaluable.55 If Barbot was correct, debasing skill taught by the Por-tuguese to Africans to defraud English and Dutch rivals was tobackfire on the Portuguese in Brazil. Debased gold was a constantheadache for governors and provedors of the royal mints and smelt-ing houses. In the history of African contributions to New Worldsocieties, the transferof such technical skills (however reprehensiblethey seemed to the authorities) was a major legacy.By its nature gold dust is easily concealed. In Minas Gerais it wasrarely necessary to resort to subterfuge because the prevailingmedium of exchange was gold dust. Slaves were permitted to possessgold dust for their own needs and "so that they may with better willtolerate the excessive toil to which they are constantly subject."56This set of circumstances, peculiar to the mining areas, resulted inmore slaves enjoying their freedom in Minas Gerais than in theplantation societies of Brazil. Manumission and the role of the freeblackand mulatto has been described elsewhere. Suffice it to say herethat the number of manumitted slaves appears to have increased fromthe 1740s. By 1786forros comprised 34 percent of the population ofthe captaincy. Less desirable from the miner's viewpoint was a largerunaway slave population. Factors facilitating flight were: physicalmobility inherent to mining; difficult terrain; inadequate human andfinancial resources for effective patrolling; ease of concealment,whether in the countryside in old mining holes or in the townshipswhere irregular topography and houses with doors opening ontoadjacent streets provided ideal bolt holes; difficulty of identifying arunaway from among a predominantly black population engaged in avariety of legal activities such as carrying wood, clearing scrub, orgetting forage; and finally, the spasmodic pattern of settlement in amining zone, which resulted in substantial tracts being virtually un-populated. To these factorsshould be added the avarice of white storeand tavern keepers who received payment in gold dust for aiding andharboringrunaway slaves and for supplying quilombos (communitiesof runaway slaves) with foodstuffs, drink, mining tools, clothing,hides, and powder and shot.57

55 APMSG, Vol. 20, doc. 45; Vol. 77, does. 139, 140; APMCMOP, Vol. 56, fol. 37; Vol. 65,fols. 46v-52v; Vol. 81, fols. 213v-15; APB, Vol. 32, does. 102, 102a, 102b; Vol. 66, fols. 269-70.56 APMCMOP, Vol. 9, fols. 25-26.57 Conflicting interests of miners and storekeepers produced heated and divisive debate.APMCMOP, Vol. 6, fols. 31v-32v; Vol. 63, fols. 166v-69, 171v-76; Vol. 65, fols. 239v-45v.



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80 Russell-WoodThroughout the colonial period in Minas Gerais, quilombos were aconstant preoccupation. There were so many of them that no town-ship or community could feel secure. Their size and permanency wasunusual, even by Brazilian standards. The quilombo in CampoGrande, known as the quilombo of Ambrosio, numbered some sixhundred blacks in 1746. In that year it had already been in existencefor 20 years. In 1766 a report from Paracatuinoted the presence of aquilombo since the first discoveries and colonization of that region inthe early 1740s. Permanency was indicated by buildings, defenses,and crops of corn, beans, watermelons, and cotton. Ironically, it maywell have been that the quilombos provided an ambience more con-ducive to stability and permanent relationships between slaves thandid the hectic mining environment. Finally, organizationand a socialhierarchy was evidenced by the titles of king, queen, princes, andranks borrowed from the militia companies.58The presence of large groups of runaway slaves, the circumstance ofa black majority, the geographic location of Minas Gerais far frompotential militaryassistance, and the pressure of mining, combined toimbue life in Minas Gerais with insecurity, tension, and stress whichverged on paranoia. This was especially marked during the earlierdecades of the eighteenth century and revealed itself in two forms:omnipresent fear of slave revolt; and excessive local legislation. Thethreat posed by quilombos was real. Armed attacks on homesteads,rape, murder, and arson were frequent. More serious was thestranglehold they often achieved on the supply of foodstuffs by divert -ing, destroying or ambushing incoming convoys. Their greatest im -

pact, however, was psychological. Urban disturbances, groupings ofdrunken slaves on the Morros, and isolated attacks on white travel-lers brought forth dire predictions of "revolts" from governors andcitizens alike. In reality, only in 1719 and 1756 do there appear tohave been planned uprisings which might have qualified as revolts,but in both cases they were aborted.59 Hyperbole characterizedAssumar's assessment that the 1719 debacle was the greatest threatthat Portuguese America had ever experienced. He was perceptiveenough to note that the greatest danger lay not in the physical threatposed by slaves, but ratherin the resulting panic among whites whose

58 APMSG, Vol. 15, fols. 109v-110; Vol. 60, fols. 110v-14v, 118v-19v; Vol. 84, fols. 109v-11.Definitions of a quilombo depended on numbers and permanency. APMSG, Vol. 2, fols.108v-110; Vol. 59, fol. 102;APMCMOP, Vol. 43, fols. 83v-86v. For a survey, see Waldemar deAlmeida Barbosa, Negros e quilombos em Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte, 1972).59 Both were planned for Maundy Thursday: 1719-APMSG, Vol. 11, fols. 117v-127, 130-33v, 170-71; 1756-APMCMOP, Vol. 65, fols. 236v-43.



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Gold Mining 81fear at the slightest shadow could escalate into total civil disorder: "asingle spark could ignite a holocaust."60Reaction by the white population, which was so regular as toconstitute almost a ritual catharsis, took two forms: direct action andlegislation. Feelings on the part of white colonists and governors thatthings were getting out of hand often resulted in flurries of activity,mobilization of militia companies, alerting of "bushwhacking cap-tains," and attacks on quilombos. Such measures were moretherapeutic than effective, as evidenced by attacks, each involvingfour hundred men, on quilombos in the Campo Grande in 1747 andagain in 1759.61 Legislation imposed curfews on slaves, limited theirphysical mobility by "passports," prohibited the carrying of sidearmsand firearms by slaves, forbad congregation of blacks, restricted thechoice of godparents to whites, and threatened harsh penalties forinfringement of these regulations. Although, on the whole, punish-ments for slaves were not inconsistent with general colonial practice,the inhumane proposal that the Achilles tendon of runaways shouldbe severed (mercifully not adopted) is indicative of the more drasticremedies proposed.62 Such legislation was no more effective thandirect action had been, but it seems to have served the purpose ofreassuring the white populace that their destiny lay in their ownhands. Nevertheless, at no time did the white colonists of MinasGerais lapse into complacency; reference to Palmares was enough togalvanize them into action.These circumstances bred a different relationship between a minerand his slaves than that prevailing in a plantation society andeconomy. Except on the lavras, the relationship between master andslave was likely to be more personal than on the plantations.Moreover, the dependence of a miner on his slave was so great that

60 APMSG, Vol. 4, fols. 209v-10v, 214v-15, 218-19v, 238-39. One outcome of this fear wasnegrophobia embracing blacks and mulattos, slaves and freedmen. Typologies of slave resis-tance are discussed in George M. Frederickson and Christopher Lasch, "Resistance to Slavery,"Civil War History, 13 (Dec. 1967), 315-29. Comparison of "plots" and areas with blackmajoritiesin the English colonies would be rewarding, vide Richard C. Wade, "The Vesey Plot:A Reconsideration," TheJournal of Southern History, 30 (May 1964), 143-61; Peter H. Wood,Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion(New York, 1974). I am indebted to Willie Lee Rose, Roger Ekirch, and Daniel Littlefield formuch illuminating discussion on this theme.61 APMSG, Vol. 50, fols. 43-44, 79, 82v-83; Vol. 84, fols. 108v-111; ANRJ, Codex 952, Vol.33, fol. 390.62 This measure had been suggested to Assumar by the French colonial precedent. APMSG,Vol. 11, fols. 130-33v, 170-71. Royal approval for the creation of a judicial junta in 1731, withauthority to pass sentence of death on blacks, mulattos, and carij6s, represented the extensionto Minas Gerais of a privilege already granted to Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Pernambuco.APMSG, Vol. 1, fols. 70v-78v; Vol. 2, fol. 125; RAPM, 2 (Jan.-June 1904), 347-48.



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82 Russell-Woodby his behavior a slave could literally make or break his master.Municipal legislation placed full responsibility on the master formisdemeanorsor criminal acts committed by slaves. Slaves werejailed pendingpaymentof fines in golddust. Well awareof a master'simpecuniosity, ome slaves committedcrimes, allowing hemselvestobe caughtand auctioned off to meet the costs of a fine, in order tosettle a grudge against a former master and ensure a change ofowners. A variantwas the legal expedient of denunciation.Slavesearnedtheir freedom n returnfordenouncingmasterswho failedtopay the "fifths."Abuse by slaves resulted in the king waiving thispractice in 1750.63Furthermore,many masterswere dependent ontheir slaves for a technicalknowledgeof miningand a regular ncomefrom the daily takings.It should also be remembered hat possessionof a certainnumberof slaves could makea mastereligible for miningconcessionsand access to water rights, while exemptinghim fromforeclosure or debt.A result of this dependence, and the high financial investmentrepresented by a slave, was that mastersin the miningareas wereunusuallytolerantof slaves' misdemeanors.In 1721 Assumarnotedthat"theseAmericans egard heirblacksas demigods."64hisregardundermined effective law enforcement. Despite edicts prohibitingthe carryingof arms by slaves, masterscommonlypermittedthis.65Runaway laveswere not broughtto justice because masters madeindividual financial arrangements with "bushwhackingcaptains,"rather than meet jail costs and legal delays that would prevent theslave fromproducing.66Almeidaobservedthatmanyof the problemsin MinasGeraiswere born of the excessivetrustplacedin theirslavesby whites.67He notedthata masterwould even sufferphysicalabusefrom a slave in silence, rather than lose his laborby legal action.Mastersregularlyprotectedtheir slaves from the bringingof chargeswhichmightresultin impositionof the deathpenalty.Thistolerance

63 APMSG, Vol. 1, fols. 181v-82v, 191v-92v; Vol. 5, fols. 180v-83; Vol. 10, fols. 74b, 79; Vol.37, fols. 48-49v; APMCMOP, Vol. 33, fols. 26-27v; APB, Vol. 47, fols. 130-35.64 .. . estes Americanos reputao os seus negros por semiDeoses.. . .", APMSG, Vol. 13, fol.

13.6 APMSG, Vol. 4, fol. 204; Vol. 11, fols. 279-80, 282v-84; Vol. 27, fols. 14v-15;APMCMOP,Vol. 6, fols. 53v-54.66 APMSG, Vol. 2, fols. 108v-10; Vol. 21, fol. 93; Vol. 50, fols. 80-82v. In 1783 the Council ofMarianaprotested to the queen that fees for "bushwhackingcaptains"established in 1722 werenow out of keeping with economic reality, the cost of redeeming a slave exceeding his value.APMSG, Vol. 19, docs. 99,119.67 -. . . porq' he sem duvida q' nada desperta tanto a confiangados negros como a q' dellesfazem os homens brancos," APMSG, Vol. 11, fols. 130-33v.



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Gold Mining 83was especially marked in poorer miners, who could ill afford the lossof a single slave.68From the foregoing it has been seen that gold, mining technology,and the society and economy of the gold bearing regions of Brazil hada major impact on all aspects of slavery, ranging from purchasingpractices in West Africa to the relationship between master and slavein Brazil. Certainly, this impact was more complex and far-reachingthan has usually been depicted. Slavery-one of the oldest and mostconstant of New World institutions-was not merely a plantationphenomenon, and we need to bear in mind that generalizations aboutslave life drawn from the plantation setting are unlikely to be true fordifferent economies such as the one that existed in the gold miningregions of Brazil.

A. J. R. RUSSELL-WOOD, The Johns Hopkins University68 Assumar proposed that masters be reimbursed from a communal fund. APMSG, Vol. 4,fols. 214v-15; cf. Vol. 4, fols. 218-19v, 227v; Vol. 11, fols. 118-22v.

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Russell Wood. The Impact of Gold Mining on the Institution of Slavery inPortuguese America.pdf

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