The historical concept of agregado and methodology in social history (southern Brazil, turn of the 18 ^th to the 19 ^th century)

Abstract:

The research addresses the practices of agregar and to be agregado and the record of these conditions in Brazil at the time of slavery. The documentation consists of dictionaries and population enrollments. From the historiographical criticism and the reading of dictionaries, we elaborated a definition of the concept of agregado. The methodologies of record linkage and family reconstitution made it possible to identify the extended family of some agregados, in order to allow the analysis of differences within this category. Our hypothesis is that agregar was a diffuse practice and that the agregado did not constitute a specific group or social stratum. In addition, the objectives of those responsible for the production of documents need to be considered as relevant elements to understand how the term agregado was used when the records were created.

Keywords:
Agregados; Rural history; Free population