Paying the Price of Freedom: Family and Labor among Lima's Slaves, 1800–1854 (Uc Press Voices Revived)

Christine Hünefeldt documents in impressive, moving detail the striving and ingenuity, the hard-won triumphs and bitter defeats of slaves who sought liberation in nineteenth-century urban Peru. Drawing on judicial, ecclesiastical, and notarial records—including the testimony of the slaves themselves—she uncovers the various strategies slaves invented to gain their freedom. Hünefeldt pays particular attention to marriage relations and family life. Slaves used their family solidarity as a strategy, while slaveowners used the conflicts within families to prevent manumission. The author's focus on gender relations between slaveowners and slaves, as well as between slaves, is particularly original. Her eye for ethnographic detail and her perceptive reading of the documentary evidence make this book a rich and important contribution to the study of slavery in Latin America. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994. Annotation Christine Hnefeldt documents in impressive, moving detail the striving and ingenuity, the hard-won triumphs and bitter defeats of slaves who sought liberation in nineteenth-century urban Peru. Drawing on judicial, ecclesiastical, and notarial records--including the testimony of the slaves themselves--she uncovers the various strategies slaves invented to gain their freedom. Hnefeldt pays particular attention to marriage relations and family life. Slaves used their family solidarity as a strategy, while slaveowners used the conflicts within families to prevent manumission. The author's focus on gender relations between slaveowners and slaves, as well as between slaves, is particularly original. Her eye for ethnographic detail and her perceptive reading of the documentary evidence make this book a rich and important contribution to the study of slavery in Latin America 1. Major Events And Everyday Life -- 2. From Rural To Urban Life -- 3. In The City -- 4. Matrimonial Alliances And Conflicts -- 5. Slaves And Their Owners: Property And Freedom. Christine Hünefeldt ; Translated By Alexandra Stern. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 251-260) And Index. A Digital Reproduction Is Available From E-editions, A Collaboration Of The University Of California Press And The California Digital Library's Escholarship Program. Frontmatter List of Figures and Tables (page vii) Acknowledgments (page ix) Introduction (page 1) 1. Major Events and Everyday Life (page 9) 2. From Rural to Urban Life (page 37) 3. In the City (page 97) 4. Matrimonial Alliances and Conflicts (page 129) 5. Slaves and Their Owners: Property and Freedom (page 167) Conclusion (page 199) Abbreviations (page 217) Notes (page 219) Glossary (page 247) Bibliography (page 251) Index (page 261) Documents the hard-won triumphs and bitter defeats of urban slaves who sought liberation in 19th-century Peru. Drawing on judicial and ecclesiastical records and the testimonies of the slaves themselves, this study details the various strategies that slaves used to gain their freedom.