Donas, Free Black Women, and Enslaved Females in Nineteenth Century Luanda
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-864X.2018.3.29583Keywords:
Luanda, slavery, donas, free black women.Abstract
Luanda, the capital of the Portuguese colony of Angola, had a female majority in mid-nineteenth century. The female population was composed of donas, free black women, and captives who occupied different spaces in the colonial society. The daughters of the Luso-African elite were since their childhood identified as donas, reflecting their socio-economic status. These women accumulated captives, land, and luxury goods through inheritances and participation in the local and long-distance trade as merchants and brokers. Free black women sought opportunities in retail trade as quitandeiras and offering manual services to the inhabitants of the city. Female captives, in turn, entered the small trade of the streets and markets and performed domestic tasks in the residences of foreigners and Luso-Africans. This study draws on slave registers, baptism and burial records, and deeds of sale and purchase to explore experiences of donas, free black women, and female captives in nineteenth century Luanda. In a Luso-African and slave society, elements such as Portuguese descent, the ownership of goods, and affiliation to the Portuguese culture conferred prestige upon certain individuals determining the trajectories of free and enslaved women.
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