“APPEALING TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE THRONE TO ATTAIN FREEDOM”: FLIGHT AND MANUMISSION - BAHIA AND LISBON, 1761-1804

Abstract

This paper examines the circumstances under which enslaved and masters of the “Capitania da Bahia” appealed to the Royal authority in Lisbon and argued about slavery and freedom in the late eighteenth century. Guided by the legal proceedings that included enslaved owned by two important merchants, I seek to understand the characters involved and the complexity of the context for appealing to the Queen under the decree of September 19, 1761,which prohibited the landing of slaves in Portugal and was deployed both to support manumission and to restrain the longing for freedom of the captives who landed there with their masters or as fugitives. This study draws upon a variety of sources, which allowed for zooming in on such conflicts and calling into question the phenomenon of manumission among those of power and prestige.

Keywords:
Escape; Manumission; Bahia; Lisboa; 18^th century