Slave Identities
In colonial Brazil, identity became a complex combination of race, skin color, and socioeconomic status because of the extensive diversity of the both the slave and free population. For example, in 1872 43% of the population was free mulattos and blacks. The fact that slavery was not synonymous with a particular skin color, as was the case in the United States at the same time, had important implications towards this complexity. There are four broad categories that show the general divisions among the identities of the slave and ex-slave populations: African-born slaves, African-born ex-slaves, Brazilian-born slaves, and Brazilian-born ex-slaves.
Read more about this topic: Slavery In Brazil
Famous quotes containing the word slave:
“The man of genius, like a dog with a bone, or the slave who has swallowed a diamond, or a patient with the gravel, sits afar and retired, off the road, hangs out no sign of refreshment for man and beast, but says, by all possible hints and signs, I wish to be alone,—good-by,—fare-well. But the Landlord can afford to live without privacy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)