"What will these people do when the final emancipation of slaves is decreted?" - domestic service and slavery in the Paraiba Valley coffee plantations.

Abstract: This article discusses the issue of domestic slavery in coffee plantations located in the Paraiba Valley during the second half of the XIXth century. It is divided into two main parts. The first discusses how Brazilian historiography treats this topic and emphases the importance of studying domestic slavery in rural areas. The second analyses the relations between slaves and masters inside the big houses taking as a example the Pau Grande plantation.