Enslaved Names and Identities in the Meia-Sizas of Central Brazil, 1810-1822

The meia-siza (sisa) was the 5% tax paid when an enslaved person was bought and sold in the nineteenth century. Many documents on the enslaved of Brazil were burned in 1888 at the time of the abolition of slavery. When I first went to Rio de Janeiro in 1968, I was told repeatedly that I could not write a history of enslaved Africans in the city of Rio because all the documents on slavery had been burned in 1888. As I eventually learned, not all had been destroyed, including meia-sizas that had escaped official attention. The data on 1,610 persons registered in the meia-sizas from Central Brazil include the name of the person, which usually indicates gender; identity by nation or color; age in some cases; the price sold in oitavas (ounces) of gold or in the Brazilian currency the mil-réis; and the tax paid in gold or mil-réis or silver. In the case of letters of liberty, it was also noted who paid for the freedom of the individual and the amount of the tax. The locations include Araxá, Arraias, Bomfim, Cavalcante, Conceição, Crixás, Dezemboque, Flores, Meia-Ponte, Natividade, Pilar, Cavalcante, Julgado do Carmo, Porto Real, Santa Cruz, Julgado de São Félix,Santa Luzia, São João da Palma, and Traíras. They cover the period from 1810 to 1822.