Enslaved women in Itaguaí: motherhood, freedom and internal slade trade in the second half of the 19th century (1850-1888)
Enslaved women; Gender; Itaguaí; Enslaved families; Motherhood.
The present research aims to analyze the dimensions of the experiences of enslaved women in Itaguaí, between the years 1850 and 1888. As it was observed, above all, the trajectories and referrals of these women, encompassed in the sociopolitical changes of slavery, after the Eusébio de Queirós Law, and mainly, in the emancipacionist measures after the 1870s. Furthermore, there is an attempt to interpret the way in which their family and maternal ties were affected in this dynamic of changes, interpreted through diverse sources, such as inventories, parish registers, letters of freedom, wills and documentation of half-size slaves. The main argument about the object of study is that enslaved women of Itaguaí, even in a location that is not present in the list of exporting agricultural regions, such as the municipalities of Vale do Paraíba, were inserted in the social and political developments that spanned the busy final years of slavery. This insertion, in turn, had the specifities of Itaguaí, but connected with the reality and needs of nearby municipalities. In the next pages, articulations about family, motherhood, freedom, labor and commuting will help us in the investigative and interpretative developments of this research.