“Uma nova guiné”: africanos em inventários e registros de batismo na cidade da Bahia da primeira metade do século XVIII

Abstract

This article analyses the African identities in the city of Bahia in the first half of the 18th century on the basis of Catholic baptism records and post mortem inventories. What is striking is the presence of West Africans, primarily from the so called Mina nation, and the significant presence of women among the Africans, which is a very rare phenomenon in the whole of Portuguese America. The authors try to interpret culturally the serial data of the inventories and baptism registers from the point view of the ethnic recreation of African nations within urban slavery in 18th century Bahia. Key words: Africans, city of Bahia, 18th century.