Maranhão Inventories Slave Database

The Maranhão Inventories Slave Database (MISD) contains extracted information about the lives of 8,188 enslaved Africans and their descendants in Maranhão, Brazil from the mid-eighteenth century through the early nineteenth century. The dataset contains 21 variables. MISD data were produced between 1767 and 1831 and have been extracted from inventories of property owners’ possessions that are housed today in the Arquivo Judiciário do Estado do Maranhāo in São Luís, Brazil. When a property owner in the territory died, a representative of the state tallied the deceased’s possessions—including slave property. Inventory takers wrote down extensive information about the enslaved, such as given names, approximate age, marriage partner, children, profession or skills, monetary values, and “defects” such as injuries and illnesses. Enslaved people’s original (African) names were not recorded, since the enslaved in Brazil were baptized and given new names. Inventory takers also asked the enslaved from what “nation” (nação) they hailed.

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据库收录了18世纪中期至19世纪早期巴西马拉尼昂州8188名被奴役非洲人及其后裔的详细生活信息，包含21个变量，如姓名、年龄、婚姻、职业和健康状况等。数据源自1767至1831年间财产所有者死后财产清单，为研究奴隶制历史和人口特征提供了珍贵的一手资料。