Liberdades compradas: notas sobre ações de liberdade na Cidade do Jardim nos anos de 1880 e 1885

Abstract

This paper sought to discuss the issue of freedom suits filed in the spatiality of the City of Jardim, before the Municipal and Orphans' Judge of that place, in the years 1880 and 1885, under the aegis of the imperial laws in force at the time, especially Law No. 2,040, of September 28, 1871 and the Decree that regulated it, Decree No. 5,135, of November 13, 1872. Associated with this, the procedural procedures were adopted by the judges who were part of that Term and whether these were in accordance with the Judicial Legislation, Decree 4.824, of November 22, 1871, which regulated Law No. 2.033, of September 20, 1871, promoting important changes in judicial procedures. As a methodological approach to studies of this nature, we researched primary judicial documentary sources in the archives of the Historical Documentation Laboratory - LABORDOC, linked to the History Department of the Centro de Ensino Superior do Seridó (DHC-CERES), Caicó/RN campus, as well as a virtual search of the Judicial Legislation in force at the time the lawsuits were filed. The use of this type of judicial document as a source of research allowed us to understand the ways in which enslaved black people participated in legal culture by seeking out the courts as a strategy of resistance and struggle for freedom. The conclusions showed that Edwirges, Macário and Andreza were their own liberators! All of them were freed by paying the amount they were "valued" for, either with a savings account or by providing services. Isolated cases or not, the three Freedom Actions analyzed here show that the Seridó, the judiciary and the citizens of Arvoredo Jardim were not far removed from national discussions regarding the abolitionist project and the right to freedom of enslaved black people legitimized in the laws in force at the time, ensuring that the procedure was observed and followed.

Keywords: Freedom suits; Peculio; Cidade do Jardim; Court files.