PARA SEMPRE LIVRE, EFORRO?

FREEDOMS IN THE PENALTY OF THE LAW IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY DOCUMENTS OF CATALÃO

Abstract

The present work seeks to discuss the dynamics of freedom based on nineteenth-century manuscripts in Catalão-Goiás. Thus, we analyze documents from this city that deal with the slaves’ liberation. With this investigation, we present an overview of slave relations and, above all, of the manumissions that were established in this town. The corpus is composed of six manuscripts edited in semi-diplomatic version by members of the Laboratory of Lexical, Philological and Sociolinguistic Studies (LALEFIL). For this reason, this is a documental study that aimed at an analysis from the historical-linguistic point of view, based on the content about liberties registered in the corpus. As a theoretical reference, we gave preference to authors who approach the linguistic and historical materiality of black slavery in Brazil and in Goiás. The text of the documents analyzed proved that it doesn’t have an end in itself, because it proved to be an instrument revealing the spiritual life of a community, fulfilling the transcendent function of Philology (SPINA, 1977). It was possible to verify that the analyzed manumissions didn’t fully ensure the freedom of Catalão's slaves, subjected to the wills, the commands and the lordly power, configuring themselves in a freedom restricted to the penalty of the law.