Queering Sodomy: Interpreting the Trial of Luiz da Costa

In 1743, Luiz da Costa, a Brazilian slave of African descent, stood trial for sodomy. Although the Inquisition’s process required his confession, he managed to navigate his trial successfully, receiving a light punishment given the historical context. This essay examines Luiz da Costa’s subject position within a socio-political context. I argue that he queered hegemony by transforming his passive subject position of recipient of the act of sodomia perfeita into an active discursive position. He created a strategic, discursive space from which he asserted his moral superiority over his master and thus received a more lenient verdict.