Grilhões nos Tribunais: análise das estratégias jurídicas de enfrentamento à escravidão na Província de Alagoas (1860-1888).

Abstract

This work, situated in the field of Social History of Law, aims to analyze how Law instrumentalized the confrontation between the enslavering and abolitionist forces, focusing on the liberation strategies used in the legal sphere of Alagoas from the 1860s through 1888. For that purpose, the method of Law, concentrated on examining the former legislation and jurisprudence, was combined with the theoretical apparatus of specific bibliography, in particular, the historiographical productions that bring black people's protagonism, both liberated and enslaved, to centre stage in the fight against slavery. This enabled the qualitative assessment of documentary sources, such as newspapers and ministerial reports, as well as primary sources, consisting of judicial requests of freedom found in Judicial Archive of Alagoas’ collection. Thus, it was observed that, during the period under investigation, the challenge to the legality of slavery, along with the possibilities of liberation established by abolitionist legislation, set itself up as the main legal support for achieving freedom in court. This was possible thanks to the revival of the Law of November 7, 1831, coupled with the tapping into the ambiguities and omissions of Laws No. 2.040/1871 and No. 3.270/1885, as legal foundations of the judicial requests of freedom. Thus, it was demonstrated that the captives were able to turn 19th-century Law into a vector for their concrete demands. Therefore, it is concluded that these subjects transformed the legal area, especially the Judiciary, into a space of resistance to the slave order, even in Alagoas. Finally, it was recognized the need for further research on the subject, especially from a historical and legal perspective, in order to continue the (re)construction of national and Alagoas legal historiography.