Focuses on the enlistment of slaves in the Brazilian army from 1800 to 1888. Questions about the nature of military institutions; Army's policy toward slavery; Principles that governed recruitment and slavery; Administrative procedures that the government and army developed to deal with runaways in the ranks.;
Analyzes the socioeconomic history of the slave system of Minas Gerais in Brazil from 1776 to 1821. Transition from slave-based economy to agricultural and cattle economy; Economic dependence on slave labor; Slave importation; Contributing factors to decline of slave practices.
Suggests an orientation for the scrutiny of black lay societies in Brazil. Ethnicity in the formation and development of black lay societies; Changes in the development of black lay societies