Abstract: Through a critical examination of the possibilities of social improvement available to black women and their descendants, this article discusses social mobility among Afro-descending people in the town and precincts of Sabará, Minas Gerais, in the eighteenth century. Using various notarial documents (inventories, wills, deeds of sale, etc.) and papers from the municipal council of Sabará, this study investigates the types of economic success enjoyed by women of Afro-descent and the limits to their social mobility; the impact of inheritance procedures on the transfer of socio-economic resources from one generation to the next; and the strategies black women employed to ensure that transmission of their property to their children would translate into social advantages.
Keywords:
Black Women; Afro-Descendants; Social Mobility; Transmission of Property; Sabará, Minas Gerais; Eighteenth Century