Subordination and dependency

buildup and trajectory of a black family in the west of state of São Paulo

Abstract

We explored the trajectory of a family buildup in the western part of São Paulo from the interprovincial migration of captives in the second half of the 19th century. In addition to browsing the relevant bibliography, we conducted research on vital and census records, as well as an interview with a descendant of the family. It is argued that there was a dubious character in the interpersonal relationships woven by black people with people of wealth during post-emancipation. If they were one of the only sources of obtaining resources - material and symbolic - for Afro-Brazilians who came out of slavery, they also brought certain social burdens, which in most cases, were linked to the dependency policies which constitute the games of power controlling them. We conclude by the existence of a tenuous border separating slavery and freedom, enabling the construction of multiple forms of subordination and dependency relations with the interactions between (ex-) slaves and (ex-) masters.