In the 19th century, Rio de Janeiro witnessed a growth in commercial activities and the strengthening of a mercantile elite. In this scenario, women played a significant role in the retail trade, working in warehouses, greengrocers, bakeries and other establishments. They assisted their husbands or took over the running of the business in their absence, whether due to travel or death. This thesis will discuss the role of widow traders in the dry and wet goods sector, especially in the second half of the 19th century, when they officially began to manage family businesses and take on multiple responsibilities: as well as looking after their children and family, managing the establishment and other family assets, they had to deal with inventory issues, accountability and debts left by their husbands. In this way, we seek to give visibility to the social and economic action of historical subjects who, for a long time, were considered idle. These were Portuguese or Brazilian women of Portuguese descent who belonged to families that owned property, entered into marriage arrangements at a young age and were silenced behind images of seclusion. In dialogue with the historiography of women, the aim is to understand the normative

limits imposed on women linked to commerce in the position of owners or wives of merchants and how they dealt with these limits on a daily basis, expanding and redefining them over time.