People of Faith: Slavery and African Catholics in Eighteenth-Century Rio de Janeiro

Gallery of Illustrations

Title page of the Constituições Primeiras do Arcebispado da Bahia (1707), the first o≈cial set of regulations of the Brazilian Catholic Church. Announced in Bahia in 1707, it was published in Portugal in 1719/1720. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Published in a modern edition: Sebastião Monteiro da Vide (Dom), Constituições Primeiras do Arcebispado da Bahia (Brasília: Senado Federal, 2007). Title page of Manoel Ribeiro Rocha’s Ethiope Resgatado, Empenhado, Sustentado, Corrigido, Instruído e Libertado, on the debate about the conversion and indoctrination of African slaves in Brazil, published in Portugal in 1758. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Published in a modern edition: Manoel Ribeiro Rocha, Etíope Resgatado, Empenhado, Sustentado, Corrigido, Instruído e Libertado, presented and transcribed from the original by Silvia Hunold Lara (Campinas: ifch-unicamp, 1991). Sketches of male Africans slaves from di√erent proveniences (called ‘‘nations’’), by JeanBaptiste Debret (ca. 1820). The artist focused here on the detail of tattoos and hairstyles. Debret reproduced many of these sketches in his plates of street porters and dockworkers. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Reprinted in Jean Baptiste Debret, O Brasil de Debret, plate 56. Sketches of female African slaves from di√erent proveniences (called ‘‘nations’’), by JeanBaptiste Debret (ca. 1820). Here, the artist’s eye was caught by the hairstyles and the use of European-style clothing among the domestic slaves of elite households. Debret reproduced many of these sketches in his scenes of the home life of Brazilian families. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Reprinted in Jean Baptiste Debret, O Brasil de Debret, plate 44. Urban Transport in Rio de Janeiro, by Carlos Julião (ca. 1780). Indigenous hammock porters in Rio de Janeiro. Until the second half of the eighteenth century, some indigenous free workers shared with Africans the task of conveying people through the city streets. At the end of the eighteen century most porters were Africans, but Carlos Julião—a soldier serving Portugal— did not miss the few remaining indigenous porters. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Printed in Carlos Julião, Riscos Iluminados de Figurinhos de Brancos e Negros dos Uzos do Rio de Janeiro e Serro do Frio, plate 7. Poor urban dwelling in Rio de Janeiro, by Jean-Baptiste Debret (ca. 1820). Various architectural developments came to the city of Rio de Janeiro following the installation of the Portuguese court in 1808, although the old part of the city occupied by people of humble means was a√ected less than other districts. The style and appearance of those poor houses had changed little since the eighteenth century. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Reprinted in Jean Baptiste Debret, O Brasil de Debret, plate 54. African Women Collecting Donations on the Street, by Carlos Julião (ca. 1780). Notable in this image of African women in the folia of a Catholic Lay Brotherhood is the ornate, festive attire, including that worn by a little girl accompanying the older women. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Printed in Carlos Julião, Riscos Iluminados de Figurinhos de Brancos e Negros dos Uzos do Rio de Janeiro e Serro do Frio, plate 35. Funeral of the son of an African king of a folia, by Jean-Baptiste Debret (ca. 1820). Although Debret suggested that the folias no longer appeared in public processions on saints’ days after the arrival of the Portuguese court (1808), he was able to observe this funeral cortege depicted in detail. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Reprinted in Jean Baptiste Debret, O Brasil de Debret, plate 80. Collection of Donations in the Church of the Rosário of Rio Grande, by Jean-Baptiste Debret (ca. 1820). This interior scene of a church in Rio Grande, southern Brazil, shows the folia of the Brotherhood of the Rosário. The king and queen lead the ceremonial collection of donations, alongside the capitão da guarda (royal bodyguard), musicians, and other members of the court. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Reprinted in Jean Baptiste Debret, O Brasil de Debret, plate 90. Queen of the Folia, by Carlos Julião (ca. 1780). A cortege featuring the queen, dressed in her regal attire. Parasols, musical instruments, and dancing add to the vibrancy of the event. Courtesy of bn, Brazil. Printed in Carlos Julião, Riscos Iluminados de Figurinhos de Brancos e Negros dos Uzos do...