Como era o dia a dia dos escravizados em terras teresinenses entre os anos de 1850 à 1888

Abstract

This study analyzes the daily lives of enslaved individuals in the city of Teresina, the capital of the Province of Piauí, from 1850 to 1888. The research investigates the various facets of slave life in the newly established urban environment, from the imposed forms of labor— ranging from construction work in the new capital, agricultural labor in its surroundings, and domestic services—to complex social relations, survival strategies, and manifestations of resistance. Using a methodology based on the analysis of primary sources, such as period newspapers (O Echo Liberal, O Expectador, A Pátria, A Imprensa) and slave classification lists, and in dialogue with a consolidated historiography on slavery in Brazil and Piauí, this work seeks to understand how enslaved people experienced and negotiated their existence in a context of profound social and urban transformations. The analysis of newspaper advertisements reveals not only the reification of the enslaved human being but also the tactics of masterly control, escapes as a form of resistance, and the intricacies of the local abolitionist process. The study aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the slave experience in Teresina, highlighting the agency of these historical subjects and the particularities of slavery in a developing urban center in Northeastern Brazil during the 19th century.