J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57

“As If From A Free Womb”: Baptismal Manumissions in the Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807 José C. Curto York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Abstract: This paper reconstructs and discusses the process of manumission in a slavocratic society that has so far remained outside the ambit of scholarly analysis: the Conceição Parish of Luanda, where the elites of colonial Angola resided. The sources on which it draws consist of 166 cases of slave enfranchisement at the baptismal font between 1778 and 1807, a particularly important period for both Luanda and Angola. Involving exclusively infants, this relatively small number of cases nevertheless relates to a far larger population pool, both enslaved and free, within the Conceição Parish. Thus, besides addressing the ritual incorporation of certain slaves into the Christian community, and the simultaneous freedom gained through the baptismal font, the study also provides otherwise unobtainable detailed insights into a specific slave and slave-holding society in West Central Africa. © 2002 Portuguese Studies Review. All rights reserved.

anumission continues to be an important object of analysis for slave societies Mthroughout much of the Atlantic World.1 The process, although quantitatively negligible, was after all an extremely dramatic one. It involved an individual owner relinquishing property rights over one or a very small group of his/her slaves. Manumission discriminated among the enslaved to be enfranchised, since freedom was only granted to specific slaves. It was always the result of an agreement, intention, or contract between the individuals concerned, the owners and the slaves. Manumission was the only option available for the enslaved to become free persons legally. As such, it was the only method which saw slaves work within the system in order to secure their freedom and enabled them to live as free persons within the very communities where they had been previously held in bondage. Analysis of manumission can thus yield as many important insights into slave societies as do studies of the other two basic approaches used by slaves to secure their freedom: that is, flight or large-scale violent struggle. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct and discuss the process of manumission in one of these societies which, as it happens, has remained outside the ambit of scholarly analysis.2 The physical setting is Luanda, the major port and capital of the

1 As is clear, for example, from the many articles on manumission published in Slavery and Abolition. See also the papers presented at the conference From Slavery to Freedom: Manumission in the Atlantic World, October 4-7, 2000, College and University of Charleston. 2 Earlier versions of this article were presented at the conference From Slavery to Freedom: Manumission in the Atlantic World, October 4-7, 2000, College and University of Charleston, and the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of African Studies, May 27-30, 2001. My thanks go to the

1057-1515/02-01/$—see front matter. © 2002 Portuguese Studies Review. All rights reserved. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 27 Portuguese colony of Angola. Our concern is not the whole process of slave enfranchisement but, rather, a specific type of manumission: the freeing of slaves during baptism. As such, this study involves a doubly dramatic act. Through the baptismal font, slaves not only were incorporated into a Christian community, but were also simultaneously freed from a life of bondage. The analysis is based on 166 manumissions that took place in the Sé Parish, one of two such ecclesiastic jurisdictions that made up the town well into the late nineteenth century. Covering a thirty year period from 1778 to 1807, the number of baptismal manumission cases is admittedly small. At one level, they reveal rather the broad contours of who was not manumitted in the Sé Parish. But at another level, as we shall see below, the data surrounding each of the cases is so rich that it provides many otherwise unobtainable insights into the manumission process and, equally important, into the slavocratic society of this ecclesiastic jurisdiction during a particularly important era of Luanda’s past. The essay begins by examining the socio-economic characteristics of the town. This is then followed by a discussion of the process of baptismal manumission itself. Here, we are particularly interested in deciphering not only the profiles of the manumitted, but also those of their parents and their owners. The analysis will conclude with a discussion of the motives behind the baptismal manumissions. Before proceeding, however, let us deal with the evidence that documents the process.

The Sources The manumissions that took place in the Conceição Parish between the beginning of 1778 and the end of 1807 are drawn from the extant baptismal ledgers pertaining to this ecclesiastic jurisdiction,3 held in the Arquivo da Arquidiocese de Luanda.4 A typical register reads as follows:

On October 17, 1781, I baptised Anna, natural daughter of Martha, black slave of Captain José Nogueira da Telha, and father unknown. She took Our Lady of Conceição for her patron saint and the Reverend Father Manuel Correa Leytão

conference and annual meeting participants for their comments and suggestions, as well as to Joseph C. Miller, Paul E. Lovejoy, Renée Soulodre-LaFrance, and the anonymous referees of this journal for their constructive criticism. The usual disclaimers apply. 3 The production of parish registers (baptisms, marriages, and burials), called for by the Council of Trent in 1563, was institutionalized in Portugal by the Constituições de Coimbra of 1591. Later in that same decade, this requirement was extended to the Portuguese colonies: Maria L. Marcílio, “Dos registos paroquiais à demografia histórica no Brasil,” Anais de História 2 (1971): 85-86; and M. Felix, “Les registres paroissiaux et l'état civil au Portugal,” Archivum 8 (1958): 89-94. In Angola, ecclesiastic officials thus probably began to record the first baptisms, marriages, and burials at the turn of the sixteenth century. In the case of Luanda, the earliest known and extant baptism, marriage, and burial registers date from the later 1730s. See Carlos Pacheco, José da Silva Maia Ferreira: O homen e a sua época (Luanda: União dos Escritores Angolanos, 1990), 273. 4 Much of the research underlying this contribution was made possible by a Summer 1998 Research Grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and a 1997-1998 Internal Trent University Research Grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, to which I am indebted. I am also grateful to His Eminence, Cardinal Dom Alexandre do Nascimento, for “opening the doors” to the Arquivo da Arquidiocese de Luanda (hereinafter AAL), an important and rich, but otherwise inaccessible and, consequently, under-used archive. 28 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57

as her godfather. The Master of the said child Anna told me that he was today giving her perpetual liberty and that he wanted her to be free from slavery as if born of a free womb, and that I so declare in this register...5

All of the registers provide the date of baptism (or birth) and manumission, as well as the names of the individuals thereby freed. A relatively large number of ledgers also provide the date of birth of or refer to the manumitted in terms that relate to their broad age-groups: for example, criança or young child and menimo/menina or infant boy/girl. Their mothers, all of whom were themselves slaves, are almost always named. Only rarely is their phenotype not listed. In the case of the fathers, the information available is less regular, but more comprehensive. The registers periodically provide their names, social status, phenotype, and/or occupation. The names of the owners of the individuals freed are similarly recorded in all of the cases, while their occupations are often also listed. Moreover, the godparents of those manumitted during baptism are almost always named, while their social status, phenotype, and/or occupation is also regularly registered. Finally, now and then, the motives behind enfranchisement are given. The ledgers thus contain a veritable mine of information which can be manipulated to throw light on the process of baptismal manumissions in the Conceição Parish.6 However, not all of the individuals named in these sources as baptised and freed were in effect the beneficiaries of baptismal manumissions. As the Governor of Angola pointed out to Portuguese Crown early in the nineteenth century, parish priests sometimes neglected to register the baptisms they officiated in the ledgers, from which resulted a number of individuals unable to produce a certificate of baptism.7 One of these appears to have been Rita, a mulatta baptised on 1 March, 1787. Almost fifty years later, she claimed that her liberty, enjoyed since birth, was not recorded in her baptismal register and consequently petitioned the Diocese of Angola to include such a reference in the said document so as “not to prejudice her offspring.”8 Moreover, other baptised slaves were granted their freedom after

5 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1770-1786, fl. 279. 6 A user-friendly program, Paradox 7, was used to produce a Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. For each case of baptismal manumission, the database contains over 20 fields. In the case of the individuals freed during baptism, the fields include their names, their date of birth and/or baptism, their gender, and their birth-type. In the case of their fathers, on the other hand, the fields include their names, colour, social status, and occupation, when available, and, if enslaved, the names and occupation of their owners. The fields for their slave mothers include their names and colour, as well as the names and quite often the occupation of their owners. For the godparents of those manumitted at the baptismal font, the fields include their names, thereby allowing for gender differentiation, as well as their colour, social status, and occupation. The type of manumission, whether paid or not constitutes another field for each individual enfranchised with, in the case of the former, the amount entered onto yet another field. For the agents of manumission, the fields include their names, gender, occupation, colour, and social status. Finally, a field containing miscellaneous information completes the database. 7 Governor António Miguel de Mello to the Portuguese Crown, 25 August, 1801, Arquivos de Angola, 2nd series 26 (103-106) (1969): 56-58. 8 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786-1793, insert fls. 21v-22. Rita was the daughter of Francisco Qiz, a soldier, and of Maria Manoel, a black slave owned by Dona Marianna Monteiro de Moraes. Her petition was granted on 23 July, 1832. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 29 having officially become part of the Christian community. For some, a few years separated the act of baptism from the granting of freedom. This was the case of Maria, baptised on 13 February, 1781, whose freedom, granted on 22 August, 1782, by Dona Anna Mattoso de Andrade, was subsequently recorded in her baptismal register.9 The same occurred with another Maria, baptised on 21 April, 1783, who was “ransomed” from bondage by Lieutenant Francisco A.P. Bezerra and his wife, Dona Joanna Nicassia de Andrade Grugel Silva, on 26 November, 1805.10 João, baptised on February 10, 1803, similarly had his freedom, granted on 12 March, 1806, by Dona Rita da Conceição do Nascimento, then duly recorded in his baptismal register.11 In other cases, the time span was significantly longer. Anna, born on 28 February, 1805, was to see her baptismal status changed from slave to free nearly two decades later: this after her father, Pio Pinheiro Falcão, a slave of unspecified colour who belonged to Sergeant-Major Alvaro de Carvalho Mattozo, petitioned the Diocese of Angola to this effect for having paid Captain Luiz Prates de Almeida to free her.12 A similar case involved António, born on 10 May, 1806. Late in 1825, Isabel João, a free black, petitioned to have António's slave status at baptism annulled because his father, António Sebastiao, also a free black, had long paid to have him freed, a fact which she “always recognized.”13 And then there was the case of Pio, baptised on 27 May, 1780, who had his slave status at baptism erased a quarter of a century later at the request of his owner, Captain Alvaro Mattozo de Andrade.14 These cases, involving freedom being officially granted long after the act of baptism, do not pertain to baptismal manumissions. Consequently, they have not been retained for this study. Besides this rich corpus of ecclesiastic sources, Luanda is further endowed with an important series of censuses which cover the period under consideration. While the first dates from 1773 and the second from 1781, further enumerations were carried out on an annual basis from 1796 until 1807.15 Moreover, the late eighteenth

9 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1770-1786, fl. 262. Maria was the daughter of an unknown father and of Maria Alves da Silva, a mulatta slave owned by the heirs of Captain Manuel de Beça Teixeira, who also then obtained her freedom. 10 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1770-1786, fl. 317v. This Maria was the daughter of an unknown father and of Maria Vieira, a mulatta slave owned by Dona Luiza de Azevedo. Her freedom was acquired through the payment of 50$000 réis. 11 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fl. 115. He was the son of Manuel Pereira Falcão, a soldier, and of Andreza José, a black slave owned by Dona Rita da Conceição do Nascimento. 12 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, insert fls. 174v-175. The sum disbursed was 120$000 réis, which also included the freedom of Anna's mother, Luiza Sebastião, a slave of unspecified colour. The petition was granted in December of 1824. 13 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, insert fls. 208v-209. The sum disbursed was 10$000 réis. António's mother was Maria Luiz, a slave of unspecified colour who, at the time of his birth, was owned by Catharina Francisco, the mother of Isabel João. The petition was granted on 1 October, 1825. 14 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1770-1786, fl. 256. Pio was the son of an unknown father and of Luiza André, a slave of unspecified colour owned by Captain Andrade. The petition took place sometime in 1805. 15 For a general description of these demographic sources, see José C. Curto, “Sources for the Pre- 1900 Population History of Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Angola, 1773-1845,” Annales de démographie historique (1994), 319-338. 30 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 century also saw the compilation of one of the most detailed histories of Luanda and Angola.16 The latter 1700s and the first decade of the 1800s also happens to be a period for which there is a great deal of official primary documentation generated in the port town.17 As a result, an impressive amount of other, lay sources makes it possible to place the baptismal manumissions in the Conceição Parish within the larger historical context of Luanda between the 1770s and the first decade of the 1800s.

Table 1. Slave Exports from Luanda, 1710-1829 (by decade)

1710-1719 55,219 1720-1729 69,479 1730-1739 87,728 1740-1749 104,406 1750-1759 101,805 1760-1769 83,050 1770-1779 75,743 1780-1789 94,632 1790-1799 102,604 1800-1819 122,998 1810-1819 132,919 1820-1829 140,591

Source: José C. Curto, “A Quantitative Re-assessment of the Legal Portuguese Slave Trade from Luanda, Angola, 1710-1830,” African Economic History 20 (1992): 1-25.

The Context: Luanda and the Conceição Parish Founded in 1575 by the Portuguese as the springboard from which they would carve the colony of Angola, Luanda thereafter soon emerged as the foremost port in West-Central Africa supplying the rising demand for slave labour in the New World, especially Brazil. The slave export trade persisted as the most important major economic activity of the port town well into the mid-nineteenth century.18 Prior to the period under consideration, however, Luanda’s export slave trade entered into a long slump. As Table 1 documents, the recession began in the 1750s, as the Brazilian economy contracted due to declining gold and diamond production. Thus from 104,406 slaves exported in the 1740s, the highest volume attained

16 Elias Alexandre da Silva Correia, História de Angola (Lisbon: Editorial Atica, 1937), 2 vols. (Introduction and notes by Dr. Manuel Murias). 17 Much of which, generated by the Governors of Angola, has been published in the important serial Arquivos de Angola, 2nd Series 25 (99-102) (1969) for Governor Manuel de Almeida e Vasconcelos (1790-1797); 18 (71-74) (1961), 20 (79-82) (1963), and 26 (103-106) (1969) for Governor António Miguel de Mello (1797-1802); and 19 (75-78) (1962) for Governor Fernando António de Noronha (1802-1806). 18 On the mid-nineteenth century transition from slave-trading to legitimate commerce at Luanda, see José C. Curto, “The Anatomy of a Demographic Explosion: Luanda, 1844-1850,” International Journal of African Historical Studies 32 (1999): 381-405. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 31 throughout the eighteenth century, the trade progressively decreased with each succeeding decade, reaching a low of 75,743 in the 1770s. Thereafter, the economy of Luanda began to grow steadily in response to an expanding Brazilian plantation sector and its insatiable appetite for new slave labour. Slave exports rose to 94,632 in the 1780s, reached 102,604 during the 1790s, and then attained 122,998 in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The period of baptismal manumissions under consideration was thus one of economic prosperity, with the single most important sector of Luanda's economy progressively recuperating from the 1750-1779 recession and then significantly expanding.

Table 2. Population of Luanda by Social Status, 1781-1807

Total Free Slave 1781 9,755 4,172 5,583 (57.2%) 1796 7,204 2,783 4,421 (61.4%) 1797 7,976 3,637 4,339 (54.4%) 1798 8,013 3,651 4,362 (54.4%) 1799 6,414 3,150 3,264 (50.9%)

1801 6,407 n.a. n.a. 1802 6,925 4,093 2,832 (49.7%) 1803 6,907 3,560 3,347 (59.0%) 1804 6,939 3,587 3,353 (58.7%) 1805 8,112 4,133 3,979 (56.4%) 1806 8,243 4,206 4,037 (57.9%) 1807 6,184 3,487 2,697 (56.0%)

Sources: Censuses of Luanda, AHU, Angola: (1781) Cx. 64, Doc. 64; (1796) Cx. 86, Doc. 6; (1797 and 1798) Cx. 91, Doc. 41; (1799) Cx. 94, Doc. 1; (1802 and 1803) Cx. 105, Doc. 44; (1804) Cx. 112, Doc. 47; (1805) Cx. 117, Doc. 27; (1806) Cx. 118, Doc. 21; and (1807) Cx. 119, Doc. 6.

Luanda, however, was not only a town through which thousands of slaves passed on a yearly basis to labour on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. It also had, of course, a sizeable permanent population made up of whites, as well as mulattos and blacks, both free and enslaved, the overwhelming majority of whom serviced the slave export sector or were involved in the administration and defence of the colony. By the latter 1700s and the early 1800s, each of these population groups had long acquired its own, specific demographic characteristics. As can be seen from Table 2, slightly more than half of the permanent residents of Luanda were slaves, with the proportion ranging from a high of 61.4% in 1796 to a low of 49.7% six years later. This population exhibited an imbalanced sex ratio. For every ten female slaves, as the data in Table 3 show, there were eight male slaves. Moreover, the enslaved inhabitants were overwhelmingly black, irrespective of their gender: mulattas accounted for but seven out of every 100 female slaves, while mulattos 32 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 represented a slightly greater nine percent of the males slaves. In Luanda, slavery was thus an important phenomenon, pertaining largely to females and overwhelmingly to blacks.

Table 3. Slave Population by Gender and Colour, 1781-1807

FEMALES MALES Total Mulatta Black Total Mulatto Black 1781 3,419 210 ( 6.1%) 3,209 2,164 144 ( 6.6%) 2,020

1799 1,854 95 ( 5.1%) 1,759 1,410 90 ( 6.4%) 1,320

1802 1,471 102 ( 6.9%) 1,369 1,361 107 ( 7.9%) 1,254 1803 1,976 98 ( 4.9%) 1,878 1,371 97 ( 7.1%) 1,274 1804 1,986 104 ( 5.2%) 1,882 1,366 97 ( 7.1%) 1,269 1805 2,225 157 ( 7.1%) 2,068 1,754 156 ( 8.9%) 1,598 1806 2,219 172 ( 7.7%) 2,047 1,818 245 (15.6%) 1,573 1807 1,286 195 (15.2%) 1,091 1,411 173 (12.3%) 1,238

Sources: Censuses of Luanda, AHU, Angola: (1781) Cx. 64, Doc. 64; (1799) Cx. 94, Doc. 1; (1802 and 1803) Cx. 105, Doc. 44; (1804) Cx. Cx. 112, Doc. 47; (1805) Cx. 117, Doc. 27; (1806) Cx. 118, Doc. 21; and (1807) Cx. 119, Doc. 6.

Table 4. Free Population: Administrative/Military Personnel and Civilians by Colour, 1796-1807

Administrative and Military Total Personnel White Mulatto Black 1796 2,783 314 (11.3%) n.a. n.a. n.a. 1797 3,637 1,033 (28.4%) n.a. n.a. n.a. 1798 3,651 1,406 (38.5%) n.a. n.a. n.a. 1799 3,150 1,272 (40.3%) 443 612 823 (26.1%)

1802 4,093 1,223 (29.9%) 710 851 1,309 (32.0%) 1803 3,560 1,237 (34.7%) 512 814 997 (28.0%) 1804 3,587 1,227 (34.2%) 521 821 1,018 (28.8%) 1805 4,133 1,052 (25.4%) 660 931 1,490 (36.0%) 1806 4,206 1,265 (30.1%) 661 868 1,412 (33.6%) 1807 3,487 1,367 (39.2%) 487 501 1,132 (32.5%)

Sources: Censuses of Luanda, AHU, Angola: (1781) Cx. 64, Doc. 64; (1796) Cx. 86, Doc. 6; (1797 and 1798) Cx. 91, Doc. 41; (1799) Cx. 94, Doc. 1; (1802 and 1803) Cx. 105, Doc. 44; (1804) Cx. Cx. 112, Doc. 47; (1805) Cx. 117, Doc. 27; (1806) Cx. 118, Doc. 21; and (1807) Cx. 119, Doc. 6.

Representing slightly less than half of the total, the free population was, on the other hand, far more heterogeneous. This group of residents was divided amongst J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 33 administrative/military personnel and civilians. Between 1796 and 1807, as can be seen from Table 4, the former accounted for 15.8%, or roughly one out of every six free individuals. Not only were these all male, but nine in ten were soldiers of all ranks. Their phenotype is not registered in the censuses. Nevertheless, from what is known of administrators and soldiers in Luanda, the former were mainly white and to a lesser extent mulatto, while the latter group was made up of a large contingent of whites, as well as mulattos and blacks.19 As such, their colour background was predominantly white, followed by mulattos and to a lesser extent blacks. Within the free male civilian population, blacks accounted for 42.6%, whites for 30.1%, and mulattoes for 27.2%. There was thus a far higher number of whites and mulattos amongst the total free male population than the figures for civilian men indicate. The free female population (all civilians), on the other hand, exhibited a different somatic pattern: blacks accounted for 47.2%, whites for 18.6%, and mulattos for 34.1%. There are two aspects of the colour distribution of the free population that need to be particularly highlighted. The first relates to the white females documented in the censuses. Relatively few women born in Portugal (or, for that matter, Brazil) emigrated to Luanda, whether freely or through coercion, before the mid-1800s. Consequently, most of the females labelled by census-takers as “white” had to be the offspring of white fathers and mulatto mothers who, thanks to favorable socio-economic circumstances, succeeded in having their skin whitened even further.20 Second, the sex ratio amongst the white civilian population was also imbalanced, with 11.5 males for every 10 females.21 With most administrators and military personnel being white, this left the overall white male population with few potential female sexual partners from within its own color group. As a result, white males had to draw upon females from other groups: free mulatta and black females, where a slightly higher number of women existed relative to men; and, most importantly, enslaved females, especially black women who themselves faced a serious dearth of slave male partners within their own somatic group. The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, however, saw the permanent population of Luanda under demographic stress. From a high of 9,755 residents in 1781, as Table 2 evidences, the population progressively dropped to but 6,184 individuals in 1807, a decrease of 36.6%. This contraction was not as significant

19 José Carlos Venâncio, A economia de Luanda e hinterland no século XVIII: Um estudo de sociologia histórica (Lisboa: Editorial Estampa, 1996), 31-51; and Douglas L. Wheeler, “The Portuguese Army in Angola,” Journal of Modern African Studies 7 (1969): 426-427. Luis da Motta Feo, Governor of Angola between 1816-1819, would subsequently characterize the military personnel stationed in Luanda as comprised mainly of assassins and thieves ..., whose heinous crimes merited the trying destiny of banishment in Africa, and sons of the land who by mixing with the former quickly learned their wicked habits...” See Governor Luis da Motta Feo to Conde da Barca, 7 September 1816, Arquivos de Angola, 2nd Series, 18 (71-74) (1961): 18. 20 Joseph C. Miller, Way of Death: Merchant Capitalism and the Angolan Slave Trade 1730-1830 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), 292. They were popularly known as cabrito/a. See Venâncio, A economia de Luanda e hinterland, 46. 21 Ratio worked out from the data presented in Table 5. 34 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 amongst the free inhabitants, who saw their numbers fall from 4,172 in 1781 to 3,487, or by 16.4%. But, as Table 3 shows, the demographic losses were quite severe within the slave population. From 5,583 individuals in 1781, the number of slaves tumbled to but 2,697 in 1807, or by slightly more than half. Mulatto slaves were not particularly affected by this collapse: while the number of females declined by 7.1%, that of males actually rose by 20.1%. Black slaves, on the other hand, suffered extreme losses, with the number of males dropping by 38.7% and that of females plunging by 66%.

Table 5. Free Civilian Population by Colour and Gender, 1799-1807

MALES FEMALES White Mulatto Black White Mulatto Black

1799 97 75 58 346 537 765

1802 376 328 497 334 523 812 1803 276 296 350 236 518 647 1804 285 304 357 236 517 661 1805 402 343 783 258 588 707 1806 415 363 751 246 505 661 1807 285 246 666 202 255 466

Sources: Censuses of Luanda, AHU, Angola: (1799) Cx. 94, Doc. 1; (1802 and 1803) Cx. 105, Doc. 44; (1804) Cx. Cx. 112, Doc. 47; (1805) Cx. 117, Doc. 27; (1806) Cx. 118, Doc. 21; and (1807) Cx. 119, Doc. 6.

The factors behind this demographic collapse are not particularly well known. Nevertheless, the last decades of the 1700s and the beginning of the 1800s saw a number of significant climatic disasters and epidemics fall upon Luanda and its hinterland. While this region remained free of such calamities during the 1770s, by 1782-1783 it was struggling with poor harvests. In 1785, the rains began to fail, leading to famine and high mortality over the course of the subsequent ten years. After a short respite during 1795-1796, drought returned in 1797, resulting again in famine and high mortality between 1799 and 1803. The following year, Luanda enjoyed a breather from these misfortunes. But, during 1805 and 1807, it was yet again visited by smallpox epidemics.22 Clearly, the high mortality ensuing from these calamities could not but have negatively affected the population of this port

22 Most of these disasters are documented in Joseph C. Miller,” The Significance of Drought, Disease and Famine in the Agriculturally Marginal Zones of West-Central Africa,” Journal of African History. 23 (1982), especially 21 and 51-55. For the exceptions, 1803 and 1807, see: Governor Fernando António de Noronha to Visconde de Anadia, 17-06-1803, in Carlos D. Coimbra, Ofícios para o Reino (1801- 1819): Códices (Luanda: Instituto de Investigação Cientifíca de Angola, 1965), 38; and the observations in “Mappa de toda a Povoação da Cidade de São Paulo de Assumpcção de Loanda... em todo o Anno de 1807,” in AHU, Cx. 119, Doc. 6. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 35 town, particularly slaves, the most vulnerable group in times of climatic disasters and epidemiological stress. The Conceição Parish certainly did not escape the demographic effects of these climatic and epidemiological disasters. Let us look at the 1781 and 1796 population censuses, the only ones that provide demographic data on the residents of this ecclesiastic jurisdiction. Differing population categories in each census do not allow us to ascertain the demographic decline amongst free males, whether they be white, mulatto, or black, civilians or military/administrative personnel, and this in turn eliminates any possibility of establishing the overall losses suffered by each colour group.23 However, data on two population groups that were exactly the same in both censuses is more than suggestive. Females saw their number fall from 1,644 to but 365, or by almost 78%, while the number of slaves decreased by roughly 67% from 1954 to 646.24 And yet, this part of Luanda was radically different from the other parish that made up the town, Remédios. The Conceição was the first parish established in Angola soon after the founding of Luanda. Officially designated as the Sé or Cathedral Parish, it was serviced well into the nineteenth century by the Nossa Senhora da Conceição Church, the source of the name by which it was popularly known.25 The importance of this parish lies not only in the fact that it was the oldest in Angola. Indeed, from its inception, the Conceição Parish also remained the seat of the Catholic Church in Angola. Not surprisingly, the residence of the Bishops of Angola was also located in this ecclesiastic jurisdiction, right in front of the Conceição Church. And, for their immediate neighbours, the Bishops of Angola had no other than the Governors of Angola, who resided in the Palace next door. Facing the latter was the building that housed the Municipal Council of Luanda. Also found within this parish was the main barracks of the military, as well as the residences of the higher and middle officials responsible for the daily administration of both the whole colony and the town.26 The Conceição Parish was thus not only the ecclesiastic center of the Catholic Church in Angola, but also the secular administrative center of the colony. In short, the religious, political, and military power of colonial Angola was all concentrated here. Aside from being an ecclesiastic and administrative center, there were other, equally important characteristics about the Conceição Parish. It was located on a relatively small, but well aired hill overlooking the lower part of the town around the Bay of Luanda. Within its borders resided a high concentration of locally born whites and free mulattos who dominated colonial society until the middle of the

23 José C. Curto and Raymond R. Gervais, “The Population History of Luanda During the Late Atlantic Slave Trade, 1781-1844,” African Economic History 29 (2001), in press. 24 Census of Luanda, AHU, Angola: 1781 in Cx. 64, Doc. 64 and 1796 in Cx. 86, Doc. 6. 25 Manuel Nunes Gabriel, Padrões da fé: Igrejas antigas de Angola (Braga: Editora Pax, 1981), 47- 54. 26 Venâncio, A Economia de Luanda e hinterland, 33-34. 36 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 1800s.27 Their Portuguese and Brazilian male parents died at astounding rates, even under the best of circumstances. Many left their mulatto and black female partners not only in mourning, but also with the worldly possessions they were able to secure, which eventually trickled down to their Luso-African sons and daughters.28 The former used this wealth to infiltrate the local colonial administration and military structure, especially high-ranking positions within the militia, and to acquire slaves.29 The latter, on the other hand, invested primarily in real estate, agriculture, commerce, and slaves, all of which, added to their lighter skin, elevated their status to the highly respectable position of Dona or Lady.30As a result, the Conceição Parish was not only the religious, political, and military center of colonial Angola, it was also the home of the local bourgeoisie and its large retinue of slaves.

Slave Manumissions at the Baptismal Font By the late eighteenth century, religious services in the Nossa Senhora da Conceição Church seem to have been avoided by many of its parishioners and the more affluent residents of the lower town. The roof of the building was then in an extreme state of disrepair. Few individuals consequently ventured inside for fear of being buried right there and then.31 Nonetheless, a small, continuous stream of devotees did flock to the church to have their slaves baptised.32 Indeed, between 1778 and 1807, a total of 3,030 slaves received their baptism there.33 Each week, roughly two slaves were brought to its baptismal font by an entourage made up of their respective owners, parents, and godparents. Having slaves thus brought into the Catholic community was clearly an important ritual, one which outweighed the possible consequences of a faulty church roof. In the overwhelming majority of

27 Jill R. Dias, “A sociedade colonial de Angola e o liberalismo português (c. 1820-1850),” in M. H. Pereira, M. de F. S. e Melo Ferreira, and J. B. Serra, eds., O Liberalismo na Península Ibérica na primeira metade do Século XIX: Comunicações ao Colóquio organizado pelo Centro de Estudos de História Contemporânea Portuguesa (Lisbon: Sá da Costa Editora, 1982), 1: 267-86. 28 Alberto de Lemos, História de Angola, 1482-1684 1 (Lisbon: Oficinia Gráfica, 1932), 249. 29 Venâncio, A economia de Luanda e hinterland, 31-54; Pacheco, José da Silva Maia Ferreira, 195- 201; and Miller, Way of Death, 245-83. 30 Miller, Way of Death, 289-295; and Selma Pantoja, “Market Traders and Smallholders: Women's Business in the Food Supply in Luanda, 18th to 19th centuries,” unpublished paper presented at the conference Bantu into Black: Central Africans in the Atlantic Diaspora, September 16-18, 1999. For the second quarter of the 1800s, see also: Julio de Castro Lopo, “Uma rica Dona de Luanda,” Portucale 3 (1948): 129-38; Mário A. Fernandes de Oliveira, Alguns aspectos da administração de Angola em época de reformas (1834-1851) (Lisbon: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1981), 36-64; and Douglas L. Wheeler, “Angolan Woman of Means: D. Ana Joaquina dos Santos e Silva, Mid-Nineteenth Century Luso-African Merchant-Capitalist of Luanda,” Santa Barbara Portuguese Studies 3 (1996): 284-97. 31 Gabriel, Padrões da fé, 52. 32 Parish priests levied a fee for baptisms which the poor of Luanda could not afford. See Silva Correia, História de Angola, 1: 97-8; and D. Miguel António de Mello, Governador de Angola, “Angola no fim do século XVIII: Documentos,” Boletim da Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa 6 (1886): 298. 33 See Graph 1. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 37 these cases, the sacrament of baptism was to remain the only occasion where the humanity of slaves was explicitly and officially recognized. But, in a few, select instances, such recognition was accompanied by immediate freedom.34 Between 1778 and 1807, a total of 166 slaves were enfranchised during the act of baptism in the Conceição Parish. Although their number oscillated considerably from one year to next, as can be seen from Graph 1, the trend was nevertheless unequivocally on the rise. The data evidence three distinct, incremental phases. While only 28 manumissions occurred between 1778 and 1787, 53 took place from 1788 to 1797, and 85 occurred during 1798-1807. Over this thirty year period, the

Graph 1: Baptismal Manumissions by Gender, Conceição Parish, Luanda

82 84

50 45

29 24

1315

1778- 1778- 1788- 1798- 1807 1787 1797 1807

Males Females

parish saw manumissions at its baptismal font triple. Concurrently, however, the number of slaves baptised in the same ecclesiastic jurisdiction failed to keep pace. Totaling 1,060 between 1778 and 1787, their number dropped slightly during the following decennial period to 971, and then rose to 1,099 in 1798-1807. As a result, not only was the absolute number of manumissions at the baptismal font on the rise, but so was the rate of enfranchisement during the act of baptism. From a low of

34 In Luanda, baptismal manumission ledgers were not only documents through which a variety of ecclesiastic issues were regulated and decided, but also recognized under colonial law as legal certificates for use in a variety of civil questions, including whether the social status of any individual was free or enslaved. Other documents that legally established doações de liberdade or grants of freedom to slaves were the Notas de Tabelião or notes registered with notaries. See Miguel António de Mello to the Portuguese Crown, 25 August 1801, Arquivos de Angola, 2nd Series, 26 (103-106) (1969): 56-60. 38 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 2.6% during 1778-1787, the rate rose to 5.5% in 1788-1797 and then increased again to 7.7% during 1798-1807. Thus, from a relatively insignificant phenomenon prior to the late 1780s, the freeing of slaves at the baptismal font thereafter became an occurrence of some importance for both the free and enslaved residents of the Conceição Parish. Overall, manumissions during baptism were almost equally divided by gender. Of the total number of cases, 49.4% involved male and 50.6% female slaves. As Graph 2 shows, this gender parity was not constant over time. Representing 46.4% of all slaves freed at the baptismal font during 1778-1787, male slave manumissions thereafter fell slightly to 45.3% between 1788 and 1797 and then rose to 52.9% in 1798-1807. The female slave proportion of manumissions during baptism, on the other hand, increased slightly from 53.6% between 1778 and 1787 to 54.7% in 1788-1797 and then fell to 47.1% during 1798-1807. The gender preference thus inverted from an inclination toward females to one advantaging males. However, the magnitude of this shift was only in the order of 6.5%. Consequently, it represents but a relatively modest change in the gender preference of slaves manumitted in the Conceição Parish.

Graph 2: Slave Baptisms and Baptismal Manumissions, Conceição Parish, Luanda

Freed at Baptism Slave Baptisms 16 160 14 140 12 120 10 100 8 80 6 60 4 40 2 20 0 0 1775 1780 1785 1790 1795 1800 1805 1810

FREED AT BAPTISM SLAVE BAPTISMS

Did age have an impact upon the manumission process? The ledgers do not always allow us to determine how old the slaves being baptised and manumitted were. Between the beginning of 1778 and the middle of 1795, the priests servicing the Conceição Parish merely registered the date of each baptism officiated. From J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 39 the middle of 1802 to the end of 1807, on the other hand, they recorded only the date of birth of each slave baptised. As a result, the age of the 121 slaves granted their freedom at the baptismal font during these two discontinuous periods cannot be established. Nevertheless, within this group, the parish priests did refer to the individuals baptised and manumitted as criança or young child in six registers and menino/menina or infant boy/girl in fifteen other ledgers. Moreover, between June of 1795 and May of 1802, they actually registered both the date of birth and that of baptism for 35 of the slaves manumitted at the baptismal font. For this second group, the chronological space between birth and baptism never stretched beyond two months, with the average hovering around 17 days.35 These cases, representing 33.7% of the total, show that slaves granted their freedom at the baptismal font were not only children but, more specifically, newborn infants.36 There is no indication whatsoever that anyone but young children were being granted their freedom during baptism. As a result, they could not but have been passive participants in their own manumission. Although all of the infants freed at the baptismal font of the Conceição Parish were given Christian names, none were registered under their full names. Five were listed under two given appellations: this was the case of Maria do Rosario in 1780, Anna Maria in 1787, Maria Magdalena in 1790, and Anna Maria and Maria da Conceição two years later.37 The overwhelming majority were thus recorded under but one given name.38 Whether those who chose the names given to the manumitted children were from amongst the parents, the slave owners, or the god-parents is a question which cannot be answered by the extant data. Nevertheless, as will become clear below, the fact that the great majority of young children manumitted during baptism were registered under only one given name differs radically from the name patterns of their enslaved mothers, as well as their free or slave fathers. This may well indicate that the naming of the infants manumitted at the baptismal font rested primarily with their owners. Be that as it may, the names of all of the young boys and girls freed during baptism are Portuguese in form.

35 See Table 6. 36 Only two infants experienced baptismal manumission in periculo vital or close to death: Rosa, daughter of Theresa da Cruz da Rosa Coutinho and Raymondo José Ferreira Gomes, on 19 October 1788; and José, son of Domingas Gaspar and Payo José, on 5 May 1792. See their respective ledgers in AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786-1793, fls. 65-65v and 164v. Yet, at the time, mortality in Luanda was extremely high. See Miller, “Significance of Drought, Disease and Famine,” 17-61. 37 See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos: 1770-1786, fl. 256; 1786-1793, fl. 28v, fl. 116, and fl. 169v; and 1793-1801, fl. 8v, respectively. 38 Amongst these, there were clear name giving preferences: while for females there are 16 instances of Maria, eight of Anna, and six of Catarina, for males there are 18 occurrences of Manuel, eight of António, and seven of José. By themselves, these represent 39% of the children listed under one given name: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 40 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57

Table 6. Age-Groups of Individuals Freed during Baptism, Conceição Parish, Luanda 1778-1807

Criança (young child) 6 Menino/menina (infant boy/girl) 15 Within 60 days of Birth 35 Unknown 110

Total 166

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

Since young children were the recipients of manumission during the act of baptism, one would anticipate that most of the captives thus enfranchised were born locally, either within the Conceição Parish or its sister parish, Remédios. The baptismal manumission ledgers do not specifically provide this information. Yet, they do highlight the slaves freed during baptism who were born elsewhere. This is the case in seven baptismal manumissions, all of which took place between 1796 and 1807, when the absolute number and the rate of manumissions at the baptismal font were at their highest. Most involved young children born the vicinity of Luanda: three in Calumbo and one each in Bengo, Dande, and Quissama, with females outnumbering males two to one.39 Only one, a female, was born well beyond Angola's colonial capital: the hinterland of Benguela, over 400 kilometres to the south.40 With baptismal manumissions involving slaves listed as born outside of Luanda being quite rare, nearly all of the enslaved young children freed at the baptismal font of the Conceição Parish were thus surely born in Luanda, if not within the parish itself.

The Parents of the Manumitted Children The baptismal manumission ledgers do not provide information on the place of residence of the enslaved mothers of the young children manumitted. Nonetheless, with the exception of the seven cases involving slave infants born outside of Luanda, the remaining 159 would presumably have been the offspring of mothers who, if not residing within the parish, lived in the colonial capital of Angola. The parish priests did, however, almost always record the names of the mothers of the manumitted infants. Only in rare cases was this not done, as occurred with the mothers of Isabel from the interior of Benguela in 1796, Luiza from Luanda in 1798, and Catarina from Quissama in 1807.41 The other 163 mothers were all

39 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos: 1793-1801, fl. 115v, 1801-1809, fl. 86 and fl. 124 for the Calumbo born; and for the others, 1801-1809, fl. 9v, fl. 25v, and fl. 225v, respectively. 40 This was the case of Isabel, owned by Antonio da Silva Lisboa, Juiz de Fora or District Magistrate of Benguela. See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fl. 46. She was registered as one year old, making her the oldest child known to be manumitted during baptism in the Conceição Parish. 41 On Isabel, see the preceding note. The second child was the property of Dona Anna Maria Bonine, and the third belonged to Manuel Coelho, Desembargador e Ouvidor Geral or Appeals Court and J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 41 registered under Christian names, indicating that they had most likely also been baptised. Of these, as Table 7 shows, four had just a single given name recorded: this was the case of Martha in 1781, Juliana in 1791, Rosa in 1801, and Isabel in 1807, with the first three recorded as black and the last not having her phenotype registered.42 The remainder were listed either by double given names or full names. The former represent nearly three-quarters and the latter account for slightly more than one in five of the total number of mothers whose name is given. While appellations such as Maria João and Anna Joaquina were quite common amongst mothers registered with double given names, full names could be as extensive as Angelica Rodrigues de Alfama and Josefa Francisca da Rosa Coutinho.43 In each and every instance, the name forms are typically Portuguese. Consequently, not only does it appear that the overwhelmingly majority of the children's mothers lived within Luanda and were Christian, but their names also suggest a certain level of acculturation to this colonial urban society.44

Table 7. Name Patterns and Colour of the Mothers of Children Manumitted during Baptism

Names Mulatta Black Unknown

Not Available 3 1 – 2 Single Given 4 – 3 1 Double Given 122 18 79 25 Full 37 22 7 8

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

The slave mothers of the young children manumitted at the baptismal font of the Conceição Parish were not all of the same phenotype. Roughly one in five, as Table 7 evidences, had no information recorded relating to their color. The remaining 130 were registered either as preta or black or as parda or mulatta, the principal phenotype classifications used by the parish priests for the colored population.45 Of

Crown Judge of Angola. See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fls. 123v and 1801-1809, fl. 225v, respectively. 42 See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos: 1770-1786, fl. 279, 1786-1793, fl. 137v, 1793-1801, fl. 16v, and 1801-1809, fl. 230, respectively. 43 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 44 For a pioneering study relating the Christian names of West Central Africans to their level of acculturation to colonial society, see John K. Thornton, “Central African Names and African American Naming Patterns,” William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, 50 (1993): 727-42. 45 Within the 166 registers, there are two individuals not registered under these categories: Maria do Nascimento, mother of Matias, baptised and manumitted on September 21, 1784, is listed as fusca; and Engracia Antonio, mother of Felisberto, born on December 12, 1804 and soon thereafter enfranchised at the baptismal font, is registered as mulatta. See AAL, Luanda, Conceição, Baptismos, 1770-1786, fl. 344v and 1801-1809, fl. 162, respectively. The latter is a more modern term for parda, while fusca/o or cafuso/a denoted individuals of black and mulatto ancestry. Both terms then had limited administrative use: Venâncio, A Economia de Luanda e Hinterland, 46; and especially D. Miguel António de Mello, 42 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 these, 68.5% were registered as black and 31.5% as mulatta. The proportion of black female slaves who saw their offspring freed at the baptismal font is certainly high. But more important still is the proportion of mulatto slave mothers. This is especially significant when we consider their weight relative to the overall female slave population. In Luanda, there were always comparatively few mulatta slaves. Between 1781 and 1807, as can be seen from Table 3, they averaged but 7.3% of the total number of female slaves in this port town.46 The probabilities of mulatta slaves seeing their offspring freed during baptism were thus almost four and a half times greater than enslaved black females. And their chances may have been effectively higher. Out of 2,000 female slaves enumerated at Luanda in 1781, between 14 and 40 years of age, 1,903 were black and only 97 or 4.8% were mulattas.47 If this percentage persisted throughout the period under consideration, then chances of child-bearing mulatta slaves having their infants manumitted at the baptismal font of the Conceição Parish were six and a half times greater. That a higher proportion of baptismal manumissions existed for the young sons and daughters of mulatta slaves should come as no surprise. These females, being the offspring of white fathers and black mothers, represented one of the slave groups most acculturated to the colonial urban society of Luanda. Of the 37 slave mothers listed under full Portuguese names, as Table 7 shows, 59.5% were mulattas, 18.9% black, and 21.6% of phenotype unknown. Out of the 122 mothers listed under Portuguese double given names, on the other hand, 64.7% were black, 14.8% mulattas, and 20.5% did not have their color listed. Color was clearly an important factor in determining the acculturation of slave mothers to colonial society. And the level of this acculturation, in turn, was itself significant in the baptismal manumission of their young children. For most mothers, however, there were relatively few chances of seeing more than one of their enslaved infants manumitted at the baptismal font of the Conceição Parish. Of the 163 children who had their mother's name registered, as Table 8 evidences, three-quarters were the offspring of different females. The freeing of slave infants during baptism was, for the majority of their mothers, largely a one-shot deal. Nevertheless, there was an important minority of mothers who fared much better. At least 18 of the adult female slaves named in the ledgers reappear as the mothers of infants freed at the baptismal font.48 Of these, 15 each

“Angola no fim do século XVIII,” 285. I have assigned the fusca case to the mulatta category. 46 Most seem to have lived in the Conceição Parish. In 1781, the only year for which census data on female slaves exist by both colour and parish, 131 of the 210 mulatta slaves found in Luanda or 62.4% were enumerated in this ecclesiastic jurisdiction: AHU, Angola, Cx. 64, Doc. 64. 47 Census of Luanda, AHU, Angola: 1781 in Cx. 64, Doc. 64 and 1796 in Cx. 86, Doc. 6. 48 Since not a few appellations were quite common, the identification of mothers’ names as representing the same individual was made by cross-checking their colour, owner and/or male partner. The name Rita de Souza, for example, appears in 1795 and 1803, listed as mulatta, owned by Dona Anna M. Bonini, and with offspring fathered by José de Barros. This was undoubtedly the same woman. See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fl. 90 and 1801-1809, fl. 116. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 43 had a minimum of two of their young children manumitted during that occasion.49 A few others fared even better: for example, Domingas Gaspar and Maria José each saw three of their infants freed at the baptismal font during 1788-1794 and 1800- 1805, respectively;50 and Anna Velasco had five of her children born between 1787 and 1795 similarly manumitted.51 One-quarter of the freed young children who had their mother's names recorded were thus the offspring of a small select group of slave women.

Table 8. Frequency of Baptismal Manumissions Amongst Named Mothers

Named Number of Children Total Children Mothers Manumitted Manumitted

122 1 122 15 2 30 2 3 6 0 4 0 1 5 5

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

If fertile female slaves had relatively small chances of seeing more than one of their infants manumitted at the baptismal font, even fewer could anticipate to be themselves freed during the same occasion. Indeed, only four, three black women and one mulatta, were enfranchised at the same time as their young children: Josefa João, freed by her owner, Qualtar de S. Machado, a soldier who also happened to be the father of her manumitted daughter, Antónia;52 Caetana António, enfranchised alongside her daughter Maria by their owner, João Clemente.53 Dorodea Lourenço freed along with her son Martinho by Sergeant Manuel M. Rangel, their owner.54 And Maria José was enfranchised simultaneously with her infant António by Pio P. Falcão, the father of the child and himself a slave of unspecified colour.55 Aside

49 See Table 8. 50 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786-1793, fls. 54 and 164v and 1793-1801, fl. 12v for Domingas Gaspar; and ibid, 1793-1801, fl. 175 and 1801-1809, fls. 27v-28 and 168v for Maria José. 51 See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786-1793, fls. 39, 112v, and 153 and 1793-1801, fls. 5-5v and 35. 52 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1770-1782, fl. 300v. 53 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786-1793, fl. 175v. Caetana was enfranchised on the condition that she offer three masses annually on behalf of her owner. 54 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fl. 50. 55 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fls. 27v-28. How Pio accomplished this double feat is not revealed. Nevertheless, he subsequently encountered a problem with the freedom of Maria José since when she gave birth to Luis, another of his sons, both the mother and the child were listed as slaves, owned by Second Lieutenant Calisto de Sousa Magalhaens. See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801- 1809, fl. 168v. 44 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 from their rarity, these few cases do not lend themselves to meaningful conclusions. The priests of the Conceição Parish were far less diligent in entering information on the fathers of the manumitted infants into the baptismal ledgers. In 56 cases, or one-third of the total, the name of the fathers was not registered. For the remaining 110 cases, all were identified by Christian names, also indicating that the majority had most probably been baptised. Of these, two were listed under a single given name, 47 or almost 43% were recorded under two given appellations, and 61 or 55.5% were registered under full names. The proportion of well acculturated fathers was two and a half times greater than that of the mothers of the infants manumitted at the baptismal font. The level of acculturation, however, was not the only distinguishable characteristic of the 110 fathers named in the manumission baptismal ledgers. Their social status, unlike that of the mothers, included the enslaved as well as the free. As Table 9 evidences, 26 were bondsmen, all mulatto or black. Another group of 26 were forro, previously enslaved individuals who had legally secured their deliverance from bondage, or livre, free persons: 14 blacks in the first instance; and eight blacks and four mulattos in the second. Two other individuals, a black and a mulatto, did not have their status registered.56 Blacks and mulattos, whether free or enslaved, thus represent just slightly less than half of all named fathers. But, as Table 10 illustrates, this was the least well acculturated group, with only 19, or roughly one in three, registered under full names.

Table 9. Status of the Named Coloured Fathers of Children Manumitted during Baptism

Status Black Mulatto Not Specified Total

Not Available 1 1 – 2 Slave 15 3 8 26 Freed 14 – – 14 Free 8 4 – 12

Total 38 8 8 54

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

56 Francisco George, father of Domingas, freed during baptism on 25 November, 1803, was simply listed as a preto or black man, while Caetano António, father of Anna, manumitted at the baptismal font on 3 June, 1796, was recorded as a mulatto maritimo or sailor, which does not necessarily indicate that he was free. See, respectively, AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fl. 124 and 1793-1801, fls. 66v- 67. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 45

Table 10. Name Patterns of the Fathers of Children Manumitted during Baptism: Blacks, Mulattos and Soldiers

Name Patterns Black Mulatto Not Specified Soldiers

Single Given 1 – – – Double Given 32 1 – 7 Full 5 7 8 26

Total 38 8 8 33

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

The social status of the remaining 56 named fathers is not mentioned in the baptismal manumission ledgers. Nevertheless, the priests of the Conceição Parish almost always recorded the social condition of the colored male parents of the infants freed during baptism. Only in rare cases was this, apparently, not done.57 The majority of named fathers who did not have their social status registered in the baptismal manumissions ledgers would thus have been free. That this was so is suggested by other information. Of those whose social condition was not recorded, 33 were listed as military personnel. As Table 10 shows, a significant plurality was well acculturated to colonial society: almost four out of five were listed under full names. But even more important was the fact that, as soldiers in the service of the Portuguese Crown, they were all free men.58 Slightly more than half of the named fathers thus lived in freedom, while nearly one-quarter were bondsmen. As a result, the process of baptismal manumissions involved a significant preference for infants fathered by freemen. Did a similar preference also manifest itself in terms of color? As we have seen, data on phenotype exist but for 54 of the total number of fathers named in the baptismal manumission ledgers. Blacks, as Tables 9 and 10 evidence, account for

57 One involves Pio Pinheiro Falcão, listed as the slave father of Anna, manumitted at the baptismal font in February of 1805. AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fls. 174v.175. Pio is also registered as having fathered: Luis, freed at the baptismal font on 1 January, 1805; António, freed during baptism on 3 January, 1802; Caetano, similarly liberated on 4 September, 1800. In each of these three instances, however, he was not identified as a bondsman by the officiating parish priest. See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fl. 175 and 1801-1809, fls. 27v-28 and 168v. A second known case relates to Estevão da Fonseca, father of João, manumitted at the baptismal font in July of 1778. Although his social condition was not then registered, he is identified in the census of 1773 as a free mulatto. “Mappa da População de Loanda, 1773,” AHU, Angola, Cx. 57, Doc. 34. See also the two cases in the preceding note. 58 During times of crisis, slaves could be called upon to defend Luanda. One of the objectives of the 1773 census was to establish a nominal list of all male slaves in town who were capable of bearing arms. See Curto and Gervais, “Population History of Luanda .” An early 1780s proposal from Governor Barão de Moçamedes to augment the number of recruits by drawing upon local enslaved mulattos, characterized by Silva Correia, História de Angola, 1: 72, as an “immense mob of vagrants who, not being of any use to their Masters, escaped subjection to the military with the vile indulgence of being slaves...,” led nowhere. Slaves were never part of the military personnel stationed at Luanda. 46 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 38, while mulattos and slaves of unspecified color, all either mulatto or black, each account for another eight. Black and mulatto fathers thus make up just under half of the paternal parents named in the ledgers. These two phenotypes would have also been represented amongst the remaining 56 named fathers who did not have their color recorded. But here, their numbers were limited by the presence of a third phenotype: white fathers. Let us draw, once again, upon the 33 soldiers. Although some of these were surely black and mulatto, many of the 26 registered under full names, perhaps the majority, were white: Luso-Brazilian expatriates and their male local offspring borne by mulattas. And this phenotype most probably also comprised a large proportion of the other 23 named fathers who did not have their phenotype registered. Slightly more than two-thirds, or 16, of these were listed under full names, the second most acculturated group behind soldiers.59 Consequently, although blacks and mulattos predominated within the 110 named fathers, a sizeable proportion would also have been made up of whites. Moreover, the impact by phenotype and social status of the 110 named fathers on the baptismal manumission of their young sons and daughters most probably held true for all paternal parents. As we have seen above, a large percentage did not have their names registered. But this, by itself, says much about these 56 individuals, 40 of whom were listed as incognito or unknown, with the remainder not referred to at all.60 Yet, they would have been predominantly white and hence free. These individuals, Luso-Brazilian convicts and army deserters sent to serve their sentences in Angola, fortune-seekers, administrative personnel, and their locally born sons, were renowned for the sexual services they derived from the large number of female slaves found in Luanda, including the Conceição Parish.61 More than a few would not legally recognize the offspring resulting from such extra-marital liaisons.62 As a result, they were discretely omitted from baptismal registers or just recorded as incognito. The impact of fathers upon the process of baptismal manumissions was thus radically different from that of the mothers of the infants. Most paternal parents, if they did not represent the cream of colonial society, were certainly well acculturated to it. Similarly, although blacks and mulattos represented a sizeable proportion, the bulk were white. And, last but not least, the overwhelming majority were freemen. If the offspring of light-skinned, well acculturated, and free fathers, then slave infants stood far better chances of being manumitted during baptism than those fathered by individuals lacking these characteristics. Few fathers, on the other hand, could also expect to see more than one of their enslaved young sons and daughters freed during baptism. Of the 110 children who

59 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 60 Many were identified as such because they were married, with their spouses either in loco or abroad. See Governor Miguel António de Mello to the Portuguese Crown, 25 August 1801, Arquivos de Angola, 2nd Series, 26 (103-106) (1969): 59-60. 61 See, in general, Miller, Way of Death, 291-2. 62 From this resulted, according to one resident, “the unmerciful practice amongst certain male household heads of abandoning the children they have with their female slave lovers to an assassinating misery...” See Silva Correia, História de Angola, 1: 97. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 47 had their father's name registered, 90 or almost 82% were the offspring of different adult males.63 Such a proportion, higher than that of the mothers, indicates that for most fathers the freeing of their enslaved infants during baptism was predominantly also a one-shot deal. However, as in the case of the mothers, there was a comparatively small number of fathers who enjoyed better chances. At least eight of those named in the ledgers reappear as the fathers of infants freed at the baptismal font. Of these, a black slave, a black freeman, and three soldiers each had a minimum of two of their young slave children manumitted during that occasion.64 A select few fared even better. The colored slave Pio Pinheiro Falcão and the free mulatto José de Barros each saw three of their enslaved young children freed during baptism, while Manuel Teixeira, a middle-level military officer, had five.65 Accounting for 21 or 19% of the 110 manumitted infants who had their fathers’ names recorded, this small, select group of adult males fathered a significant proportion of the children freed in the Conceição Parish during baptism.

The Relations Behind the Manumitted Children Few of the relationships that gave birth to the young children freed at the baptismal font were sanctioned by the Church. Indeed, only eight of the infants manumitted during baptism were listed as legitimo or the offspring of couples married by ecclesiastic officials.66 The mothers of these children were, with the exception of a mulatta, all black. The phenotype of the fathers was similarly concentrated: five were black, one was mulatto, and another was a soldier. The latter excepted, all were bondsmen. Within the married slave couples, both parents happened to be of the same phenotype, as well as the property of the same owner.67 Only one couple,

63 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 64 They were: António Sebastião, the father of Engracia, baptised on 15 January, 1799, and of Catharina, brought to the baptismal font on 5 March, 1801; Joaquim de Santa Anna, the father of Francisca, baptised on 28 May, 1796, and of António, who received the baptismal sacrament on 28 June, 1799; Miguel Luiz, the father of João, born on 13 August, 1802, and of Manuel, born on 20 March, 1807; Paulo M. Lopes, the father of Francisco, baptised on 14 July, 1790, and of José, brought to the baptismal font on 31 October, 1791; and Payo José, the father of José, who received the baptismal sacrament on 5 April, 1792, and of Anna, baptised on 7 February, 1794. See, respectively, AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fl. 133v and 1801-1809, fl. 3v; 1793-1801, fls. 65v-66 and 148; 1801-1809, fl. 56v and 229v; 1786-1793, fls. 112v and 153; 1786-1793, fl. 164v; and 1793-1801, fl. 12v.

65 See note 57 above for the children of Falcão. For the children of Barros, see note 48, as well as AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786-1793, fl. 8v. On the children of Teixeira, see AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fls. 138v, 169v, 215, and 219v, the latter involving twins. 66 Legitimate children, whether free or enslaved, are reported to have represented but one-tenth of all infants born in Luanda. See Governor Miguel António de Mello to the Portuguese Crown, 25 August 1801, Arquivos de Angola. 2nd Series, 26 (103-106) (1969): 55-6. 67 Bento and Josepha António were owned by no other than the Governor of Angola, Manoel Vasconcellos. See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786-1793, fl. 179. Ignacio C. de Siqueira and Martha Soares, both mulattos, were the property of the Casa da Santa Misericordia or Holy House of Mercy. AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fl. 118v. (This venerable institution is well known in other colonial contexts, but with respect toAngola the only study remains António Brásio, “As Misericórdias de Angola,” Studia 4 (1959): 106-149). António Sebastião and Soteria João, who had two of their young children manumitted at baptism during two separate occasions, were held first by Colonel Francisco M. 48 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 António Sebastião and Soteria João, appears on two separate occasions as the parents of a manumitted child. Unions sanctioned by the Church, whether they involved male and female slaves or female slaves and freemen, were clearly not a significant factor in the process of baptismal manumissions. The remaining 158 infants freed during baptism were, presumably, the offspring of illegitimate relationships. The case, however, is more complicated. In Luanda, children born out of wedlock were never officially identified as bastards. As Table 11 shows, 17 of these did not have their birth type recorded by the ecclesiastic officials of the Conceição Parish. On the other hand, 141 were labelled as natural or infants born in the state of nature. Not a few of these “natural” infants were surely the offspring of parents engaged in common law unions, the most frequent relationship then entered into by the adult male and female population of Luanda, irrespective of color, level of acculturation, and social status.68 Others undoubtedly resulted from casual encounters, with women consenting or being forced to provide sexual services.69 The overwhelming majority of pairings that gave birth to the young children freed at the baptismal font of the Conceição Parish were thus less formal, though not necessarily less permanent, than wedlock.

Table 11. Birth Type of Children Manumitted during Baptism

Legitimate 8 Not Specified 17 Natural 141

Total 166

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

da Camara and then by Dona Marianna S. Silveira. AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fl. 133v and 1801-1809, fl. 3v. Francisco T. da Piedade and Semencia Vincente belonged to Dona Joana N.F. Amaral. AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fl. 155. Diogo Gonçalo and Porciana Gaspas were owned by Sergeant Alvaro C. Mattozo. AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fl. 97v. Manoel Bernardo and Dorothea João were the property of Sergeant António G. Cortezão. AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fl. 242v. Catharina Mauricio, spouse of the soldier Diogo Bernardo, was held by Captain José C. da Silva. AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fl. 183. 68 See Silva Correia, História de Angola, 1: 88-92. 69 As is clear from the proposal of Governor Miguel António de Mello that a female slave sexually abused by her master be set free, along with any offspring resulting therefrom. See his letter to the Portuguese Crown, 25 August 1801, Arquivos de Angola, 2nd Series, 26 (103-106) (1969): 55-6. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 49 The Owners of the Manumitted If the socio-economic profile of parents was important to the process of baptismal manumissions, that of the owners of the freed infants was even more significant. Because the enslaved young boys and girls were, first and foremost, property, none had the names of their male and female masters omitted from the baptismal manumission ledgers. As Table 12 illustrates, a total of 160, or the overwhelming majority, were the property of individuals, while only six were held by corporate groups.70 Of those belonging to individuals, 73 were owned by females and 87 by males. The latter, representing 54.4% of the individual owners, thus appear as just slightly more likely than female proprietors to free the offspring of the women they held in bondage. Of the 73 manumitted infants owned by women, 41 or 56% were young girls and 32 young boys. Amongst the 87 freed young children owned by named males, on the other hand, 46 or 53% were young boys and 41 young girls. Male and female slaveholders each had a moderate penchant to manumit slave infants of their own gender. But, overall, the gender of the owners and of the young children they respectively freed at the baptismal font do not appear as significant factors in the manumission process.

Table 12. Distribution by Owner of the Children Manumitted during Baptism

Corporate Individual Owners Total Groups Males Females

Boys 4 46 32 82 Girls 2 41 41 84

Total 6 87 73 166

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

70 The latter included the following individuals and entities. Martha Soares, mother of Ricardo, baptised on 22 July, 1798, and Anna Joaquina, mother of Adam, brought to the baptismal font on 21 August, 1791, were owned by the Casa da Santa Misericordia. AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793- 1801, fl. 118v and 1786-1793, fl. 147v. Martha Christovão, mother of Christovão, who received the baptismal sacrament on 27 July, 1800, and Dorothea Domingos, mother of Remigio, baptised on 11 February, 1794, were the property of the Convento de São José. Ibid, 1793-1801, fls. 173 and 26v. Eugenia Manuel, mother of Isabel, brought to the baptismal font early in February of 1790, was owned by the household headed by Dona Anna Rodrigues da Costa. Ibid, 1786-1793, fl. 100. And Theresa da Cruz da Rosa Coutinho, mother of Rosa, baptised on 19 October, 1788, was held by inheritors of Captain Manuel de Beça Teixeira. Ibid, 1786-1793, fl. 69. 50 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57

Table 13. Status of the Individuals Owners of the Children Manumitted during Baptism

Boys Girls Total

Donas 23 31 54 Military Officials 29 19 48 Administrative Officials 3 16 16 Others - Male 13 10 23 Others - Female 10 9 19

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

Far more important was the socio-economic background of the owners. Of the 160 freed infants owned by individuals, as Table 13 shows, 54 were the property of women registered by the parish priests as Donas, the female component of the local bourgeoisie, predominantly local born, economically well off, and socially respectable regardless of their color. Another group of 48 manumitted young children were owned by middle and high ranking military officers who, along with merchants, constituted the male component of Luanda’s bourgeoisie. And a smaller contingent of 16 freed infants were the property of secular and ecclesiastic administrative officials: Manuel Vasconcellos, the Governor of Angola; Friar José da C.M. Maciel; Father Sanchristão B. de Moraes; Reverends Francisco X. de Andrade and Gonçalo Cardia; António da Silva Lisboa, District Magistrate in Benguela; Manoel Coelho, Appeals Court and Crown Judge in Luanda; and Felix C. de Araujo, first District Magistrate and then Interim Crown Judge in Luanda.71 Thus some 74%, or roughly three-quarters, of the infants manumitted in the Conceição Parish were the property of individuals who constituted the cream of colonial society. The remaining freed young children were owned by less affluent and influential, though literally more colorful, individuals: Of these, 19 were the property of females who had not made into the category of Donas: two mulattas, four blacks who had themselves previously been slaves, and 13 women of unspecified socio-economic background.72 A slightly larger group of 23 were owned by a similar contingent of men: a black whose social status was not registered, a free black, a slave of unspecified colour, six blacks who had been previously enslaved, and 14 males of unspecified socio-economic background.73 Consequently, slave infants owned by the more affluent, influential, and lighter skinned individuals stood far greater chances of being manumitted at the baptismal font than those held by the poorer and darker components of colonial society.

71 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 72 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 73 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 51

Table 14. Frequency of the Individual Owners of Children Manumitted during Baptism

Owners Number of Children Total Children Manumitted Manumitted

88 1 88 14 2 28 2 3 6 1 4 4 1 5 5 1 6 6 2 7 14 0 8 0 1 9 9

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

Not all of the slave owners, however, exhibited the same propensity to relinquish their property rights over the enslaved infants brought to the baptismal font. A slight majority, 88 or 55%, as evidenced by Table 14, appear as proprietors only once in the baptismal manumission ledgers. On the other hand, 72 or 45% of the freed young children were owned by 22 individuals whose name appears at least twice. Nearly half of all the infants freed at the baptismal font were thus held by a relatively small group of slave owners. Amongst the latter, none were listed as mulattos or mulattas. One, Felix J.A. Divino, did not have his socio-economic background registered.74 Another was Felix C. de Araujo who, as we have seen above, was an important judiciary official in Luanda. Only two individuals, a male and a female, were blacks: Luiz Manuel and Maria Cardozo, both Muxiluandas and, as it happens, had themselves been previously enslaved.75 Another group of eight individuals were middle and high ranking military officers: Adjutant Alvaro C. Mattozo, Second Lieutenant Manuel Teixeira, Sergeant Manuel M. Rangel, Lieutenants António J. Menezes and António M. Andrade, Captain Ignacio M. Menezes, Major Joaquim M. Pereira, and Colonel António M. Magalhães.76 Finally, 10 of the slaveowners were identified as Donas: Anna J. Amaral, Anna M. Bonini, Anna S. Miguel, Catharina M. Bonini, Guiomar Pacheco, Maria Bonini, Maria D.

74 He was the owner of Luiza Sebastião and her son, José, born on 11 November, 1802, as well as her daughter Theresa, born on 13 June, 1805. AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fls. 64v and 186v. 75 The former was the owner of Maria Amara and her son Sebastião, baptised on 1 July, 1791, and of Rosaura João and her son João, born on 13 August, 1802. See AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786- 1793, fl. 141v and 1801-1809, fl. 56v. The latter owned Maria Joaquim and her son Manuel, brought to the baptismal font on 25 April, 1799, as well as her daughter Antónia, born on 10 August, 1802. Ibid, 1793-1801, fl. 142 and 1801-1809, fl. 52. 76 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 52 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 Barbalho, Marianna M. Moraes, Marianna P. Assumpção, and Ritta C. Nascimento.77 By themselves, these ten Donas manumitted 28 children at the baptismal font, while the eight mid-to-high ranking military officials freed 29. Combined, they account for slightly more than one-third of the freed infants owned by individuals. Clearly, enslaved young boys and girls owned by this select group of affluent, influential and lighter skinned individuals stood the best changes of gaining freedom during baptism in the Conceição Parish. Even within this select group of slaveowners, some allowed the manumission of far more enslaved infants during baptism than others. Amongst the female proprietors, two stand out: Dona Anna M. Bonini had no less than seven of her infant slaves freed at the baptismal font; and Dona Marianna M. Moraes had five. Three individuals similarly stand out amongst the mid-high ranking military officers: Alvaro C. Mattozo had seven of his infant slaves freed; Manuel Teixeira had six; and Manuel M. Rangel four. But the most magnanimous was no other than Felix C. Araujo, who had nine of his infant slaves manumitted at the baptismal font. Alone, these six owners account for just over one-fifth of all the freed young children held by individuals.78

The Motives for Manumission What motives led slaveowners to free the infants of their child-bearing female slaves? In only 34 cases, or roughly one in five, can the reasons be ascertained. Amongst these, only once was piety expressly listed as the basis for enfranchisement. This occurred with Maria, baptised on 11 August, 1792, natural daughter of Manuel André, a freed black man, and of Caetana António, a black female. The latter’s owner, João Clemente, manumitted the child and gave her perpetual freedom from slavery specifically “for the love of God.”79 Similarly, in only one instance were the “good” services rendered by the enslaved mother to her owner registered as the exclusive reason for baptismal manumission. This was the case with Catharina, baptised on 3 May 1801, legitimate daughter of António Sebastião and Soteria João: both parents were black slaves, had their relationship sanctioned by the Catholic Church, and happened to be owned by the same individual, the widow Dona Marianna S. da Silveira.80 Another inconspicuous motive was acknowledgment of paternity by slaveowners. In only four cases were infants freed because male slaveholders recognized the children as biologically theirs and, as such, set them free from bondage: Manuel in 1779, the natural son of Antónia João, a black female owned by Francisco X. Pereira; Ivana in 1780, the natural daughter of Maria João, owned by the soldier José António; Maria in 1782, the natural daughter of Antónia Paschoal, owned by the soldier José Roíz; and

77 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 78 See Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 79 See note 53 above. 80 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fl. 3v. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 53 Sebastião in 1792, the natural son of Maria Amara, a black slave owned by the freed black Luiz Manuel.81

Table 15. Motives for Granting Manumission during Baptism

Piety Expressed by Owners 1 Good Services Rendered by Mothers 1 Paternity Acknowledged by Owners 4 Donas as Widows (economic duress?) 8 Monetary Transactions 20

Total 34

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

Moreover, at least eight of the slaveowners who manumitted infant slaves during baptism were widows at the time and all happened to be donas. Given their civic status, these female slave holders may have found themselves in uncertain economic circumstances. Adding an infant slave to their household would most likely place an even greater strain upon these circumstances, since an enslaved young child would not be productive for years to come. Of the five slave infants owned and manumitted by D. Marianna M. Moraes between 1791 and 1801, two were freed in 1799 when she was listed as a widow.82 The widowed D. Anna J. Amaral, on the other hand, similarly manumitted two slave infants born into her household between 1799 and 1805.83 The remaining four widowed donas manumitted infant slaves only once.84 The eight infants thus enfranchised could thus well have been freed to relieve economic pressures. Finally, as Table 15 evidences, an even larger contingent of young children were specifically enfranchised by slaveowners in exchange of a payment. This was the case of 20 baptismal manumissions, involving 12 boys and eight girls. The baptismal ledgers provide no information on the sums disbursed to enfranchise four of these enslaved infants, two boys and two girls. The freedom of the remaining 16 young children, on the other hand, was secured in exchange of a total of 318$400, or an average of 19$900, réis.85 The amounts ranged widely. At the lower end,

81 See, respectively, AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1770-1786, fls. 227v, 241v, and 287 and 1786- 1793, fl. 141v. 82 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fls. 140v-141 and 143v. 83 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fls. 144v-154 and 1801-1809, fl. 182v. 84 These included: Dona Agueda M. de Pugasdentes, Dona Angela M. M. de Menezes, D. Joanna M. Rangel, and Dona Luiza M.G. da Camara. See, AAL, Conceição, Baptismos: 1770-1786, fl. 207; 1793-1801, fl. 136v; and 1801-1809, fls. 54 and 77, respectively. 85 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. The average price paid to free children at the baptismal font represents about one-third of the median value of prime slaves exported from Luanda between the 1770s and the first decade of the 1800s, 55$250 réis. See Joseph C. Miller, “Slave Prices in the Portuguese Southern Atlantic, 1600-1830,” in Paul E. Lovejoy, ed., Africans 54 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 Francisca had her freedom secured during baptism on 10 January 1778 for the very modest sum of 6$400 réis, while Maria do Rosario was similarly enfranchised on 29 October 1780 for only 6$000 réis.86 At the higher end, Rosa had her manumission secured during baptism on 19 October 1788 through the disbursement of 30$000 réis, while Pedro was similarly freed on 9 July 1782 in exchange for 40$000 réis.87 Then there is the extraordinary case of Adam, baptised on 21 August 1791: his enfranchisement required the remarkable sum of 100$000 réis, roughly twice the value of an exportable prime slave, plus the good services that his mother had rendered to the Casa da Santa Misericordia.88 These cases seem to indicate that much higher amounts were required to free young boys than young girls. While 251$200 réis were paid to free 10 male infants, only 80$000 réis were disbursed to enfranchise six female infants. Averaging 25$120 and 13$333 réis, respectively, the aggregate data show that the cost of freeing male infants was almost twice that of their female counterparts.89 However, discarding the highest and lowest sums paid, which involves respectively a male (Adam) and a female (Maria do Rosario), the large gendered price differential decreases to but 2$000 réis. In other words, most of these enslaved young children were freed during baptism in exchange of nominal sums. Who disbursed the sums required to enfranchise these 20 infants? In four cases, this information is not disclosed. In two other instances, the details provided are rather vague. Thus Francisca, baptised on 10 January 1778, obtained her freedom from the widow D. Agueda M. de Pugasdentes via 6$400 réis from de quem interessava or an interested party.90 Similarly, Antónia, baptised on 15 June 1801, had her enfranchisement secured from Anna Domingos por estarem ajustados or for an unknown amount agreed to by interested parties.91 Only two infant slaves had their baptismal manumissions purchased by their godparents: Anna, whose godfather, Martinho T. de Mendonça, paid 12$800 réis to D. Anna M. Bonini to have her freed on 28 March 1795;92 and Ricardo, whose godfather, Domingos A. Pereira, likewise disbursed 12$800 réis to the Casa da Santa Misericordia to have him enfranchised on 22 July 1798.93 In each of the remaining 12 cases, the infant’s father was the disburser. Amongst these, four individuals did not have their socio- economic background registered: António J. da Lux, Raymundo J.F. Gomes, Manuel Duarte, and António A. da Lux. Another group of four fathers were

in Bondage: Studies in Slavery and the Slave Trade (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1986), 67. 86 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos: 1770-1786, fls. 207 and 256. 87 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786-1793, fls. 65-65v and 1770-1786, fl. 300. 88 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1786-1793, fl. 147v. 89 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 90 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos: 1770-1786, fl. 207. 91 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1801-1809, fls. 6v-7. 92 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fl. 90. 93 AAL, Conceição, Baptismos, 1793-1801, fl. 118v. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 55 soldiers: Manuel dos Santos, Salvador de O. Correa, António A. da Lux, and Payo José. The remaining four, on the other hand, were all colored: Joaquim António was a black slave, José de Barros a free mulatto, Mauricio A. Gaspar a bondsman, and Narcizo Amaro a freed black.94 These fathers paid an average of 23$600 réis to have their infants freed, eight of whom were male. When paternal parents purchased the freedom of their enslaved young children during baptism they thus chose sons over daughters at a ratio of two to one. The socio-economic background of the fathers ranged from the most acculturated, economically well-off, and lighter skinned to enslaved and free colored individuals, with the former predominating. These motivational patterns, however, can not be projected onto the totality of baptismal manumissions. They are based on too small a fraction of the overall cases. Amongst the remaining 134 cases upon which the ledgers are silent, other motives were surely also at play. Some of these stemmed from the conjuncture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Thus, with the slave-trading based economy of Luanda progressing from depression to boom, the ever larger numbers of new captives from the interior available in Luanda after the late 1770s probably led to a greater predisposition amongst slaveowners to free the infants of their Christian, predominantly local-born, and more acculturated fertile female slaves. That the mid-1780s rise in the number of infants enfranchised at the baptismal font of the Conceição Parish occurred precisely when the economic upswing became especially noticeable is no mere accident. Similarly, with the prolonged series of climatic disasters and epidemics that then fell upon Luanda following the mid-1780s, baptismal manumissions probably provided some owners with a morally respectable way to relinquish responsibility over the unproductive, expensive to maintain, and death-prone infants borne by the women they held in bondage.95 Other, less apparent motives were far more personal. Godparents, for example, may well have worked behind the scenes to secure the freedom of their new infant protégés. Not a few godparents represented the cream of society, the same group of individuals from which the slaveholders emanated. Between 1795 and the middle of May, 1802, a total of 113 godparents became the new protégés of the 47 infants, 27 girls and 19 boys, then manumitted at the baptismal font of the Conceição Parish: While nearly half of the 61 godfathers was made up of mid/high-ranking military officers and ecclesiastic officials, Donas comprised about two-thirds of the 52 godmothers.96As such, godparents could well have used their standing in colonial society to encourage peers to enfranchise their new protégés during baptism. Fathers, although rarely acknowledging paternity, had an even greater incentive to see their infants freed. When masters of their own flesh and blood, some simply asked friends to represent their wives in the manumission process,

94 Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807. 95 According to Silva Correia, História de Angola, 1: 97, it was common for slaveholders in late eighteenth century Luanda to allow “innocent enslaved infants to die between maternal arms. These wretched human beings escape temporal slavery through this manner, without food, proper nourishment, medication, and assistance in sight; it is a pity to lose them; but it is costly and troublesome to cure them.” 96 See Table 16. 56 J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 who were thereafter faced with a fait accompli.97 Others granted freedom in less conniving ways, which then allowed them to openly adopt their young sons and daughters.98 Yet the most motivated group of individuals engaged in the process of baptismal manumissions consisted of the “single” parents of the freed children: their mothers.

Table 16. Status of the Godparents of Children Manumitted Between the Beginning of 1795 and mid-May 1802

God-Fathers God-Mothers

Freed Blacks 1 3 Slaves Teachers 1 7 Freed Mulattas Licenciates 1 35 Donas Slaves 3 7 Unknown Low Rank Soldiers 6 Ecclesiastic Officials 11 Mid/High Rank Soldiers 18 Unknown 20

Total 61 52

Source: Baptismal Manumissions Database, Conceição Parish, Luanda, 1778-1807.

These adult slave females worked in a variety of occupations. Some worked outside of their owners’ households, as quitandeiras or street vendors, prostitutes, laundresses, and seamstresses.99 Through the wages they thus earned, they contributed to the economy of their owners’ households. Sometimes, male and female owners could well have recompensed such a contribution by granting freedom to one of their newborn infants. Other adult slave females worked as domestics, rearing the children of their owners, preparing food, managing the household, attending to the sick and the aged, as well as ladies in waiting.100 Incorporated into the private life of their owners, these enslaved females developed personal relationships and sustained close contacts with them. Now and then, these

97 Governor Miguel António de Mello to the Portuguese Crown, 25 August 1801, Arquivos de Angola. 2nd Series, 26 (103-106) (1969): 59-60. 98 Silva Correia, História de Angola, 1: 92. See also François Bontinck, “Le voyage des Pombeiros: Essai de réinterpretation,” Cultures au Zaire et en Afrique 5 (1974): 63, who argues that mulatto children in early nineteenth century Angola were almost always adopted, even if their African mothers happened to be slaves. 99 For an overview of the quitandeiras, see Pantoja, “Market Traders and Smallholders.” On masters prostituting their female slaves see Governor Miguel António de Mello to the Portuguese Crown, 25 August 1801, Arquivos de Angola, 2nd Series, 26 (103-106) (1969): 55-6. Between 1799 and 1832, seamstresses represented 14.4% of individuals engaged in wage-earning occupations, while laundresses accounted for 7%. More than half of the total number of wage-earners were slaves. These data are based on still unpublished research relating to occupations at Luanda during 23 years within this period. 100 Silva Correia, História de Angola, 1: 82-3. J. C. CURTO, PORTUGUESE STUDIES REVIEW 10 (1) (2002): 26-57 57 too could lead to the manumission of one of their infants. For others still, the price exacted to see their infants freed was to continue satisfying the sexual appetites of their male masters.101 Only after many years of toil, systematic demonstration of servility, and sexual oppression, not to mention developing networks of personal patronage and maintaining affiliation with the households of the local family gentries and the transient immigrant merchants, government administrators, military personnel, and ecclesiastics who owned them, could the mothers of enslaved young children anticipate to see them freed during baptism. But this would materialize in a relatively few cases. In other words, baptismal manumissions in the Conceição Parish were a carrot that ensured, in part, the reproduction of slavery at Luanda.

101 See Governor Miguel António de Mello to the Portuguese Crown, 25 August 1801, Arquivos de Angola, 2nd Series, 26 (103-106) (1969): 59-60.