In this work we examine 43 registers of freedom letters, referring to the releases of 52 slaves of the Freguesia de São João de Cariacica, Termo de Victória, Province of Espírito Santo, in the period between 1872 and 1887. This period was chosen because we are interested in examining the last period of the slavery, more specifically from the promulgation of the Lei do Ventre Livre, in September 28th 1871, until the abolition, in 1888. A comparative analysis between the profile of these former-slaves and the results of other researches was possible, although we worked with a small sample. We obtained a clear idea regarding the meanings of freedom among slaves and former-slaves from the analysis of two police inquests in which the hopes and frustrations in relation to the freedom could have been perceived clearly.
Slaves; Former-slaves; Province of Espírito Santo
