The meticulous analysis of data from the Census of 1775 on two freguesias of Salvador (São Pedro and Penha), bring doubt to five dominant myths on slavery in the national imaginary: (1) the exclusivity of slave work in the society; (2) a society just formed by slave owners and slaves; (3) a society where, on one side, live a segment of dominant exploiters and, on the other, dominated explored people; (4) a segregated urban society; (5) a patriarchal society, in which women were submissive and economically subordinates. The results of the census, therefore, bring new subjects to understanding the complexity of our past, what helps to understand the maintenance of the extreme current inequalities, besides showing the existence of space differentiations in the city.
slaves; freed men; agregados; freguesias; Salvador
