Colonial Lima, a black city, XVI-XVII Centuries

Abstract

In Lima, Perú, during the XVI and XVII centuries, the black presence represented over 53% of the total population, what makes us assume that it was a slave society, where the slave presence was central in the domestic economy, as well as the per-hour works that were developed in the city. Moreover, there was an interaction between the slaves of the neighboring sectors of the city, such as the port and farms, causing an increase of the slave population. In that sense, our objective is to support that the possibility of a slave
rebellion on a broad scale was complex since the State and the Church created ways to escape the social tensions. Therefore, they used the marriage choice and the suit for cohabitation impediment as means of pacification, as well as the physical punishments that were used as examples against the rebel slaves. This pair of actions, which were of a good treatment for the soul through the sacraments or the physical abuse because of rebellion, were part of a domination strategy on the colonial State, while the slaves did not necessarily perceive it in that way, which remains reinforced in the legal activism and the questioning on their masters.