The Benguelas of São João del Rei: atlantic trade, religiosity and ethnic identities in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Abstract

The objective of the present article is to discuss questions related to Atlantic trade, religiosity and the construction of ethnic identity in Brazilian slave society during the period the 18th and 19th centuries. Here, we have chosen to focus our analysis on the São João Del Rei region. First, we present a general view of the diverse ethnic groups inhabiting the region, following with a more focused analysis of the Benguelas group. Looking at the formation strategies of Benguelas collective identity, we try to advance in our comprehension of the Atlantic slave trade as a decisive element in the social and cultural formation of Portuguese America. Our principal sources are parish death registers and documents of the Nossa Senhora do Rosário brotherhood from São João Del Rei.

Atlantic trade; Religiosity; Ethnic Identity