Abstract

FUENTES-GONZALEZ, Alejandra. Getting Freedom Recognition: General Considerations about the Litigation Initiated by Slaves of African Origin in the Episcopal Audience of Santiago (Chile, 17^th-18^th centuries). Hist. Soc. [online]. 2023, n.44, pp.43-70.  Epub Feb 21, 2024. ISSN 0121-8417.  https://doi.org/10.15446/hys.n44.104508.

The article aims contributed to studies on the uses of ecclesiastical justice by slaves of African origin, taking the case of Santiago de Chile between the 17th and 18th centuries. Specifically, it revealed the decision mechanisms of the litigants, the advantages that they provided in this type of judicial space, the influence of the occupation of the defendants in the final sentences, the role of the witnesses and, similarly, the fragility of the freedom obtained or claimed. For this, the documentation contained in the Historical Archive of the Archbishopric of Santiago was analyzed, in a timely manner, eight litigations preserved today in the Miscellaneous Matters Series of the Ecclesiastical Court Fund, whose main request was: obtaining formal or practical recognition of freedom. Using a methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative research aspects, the profile of plaintiffs, defendants and witnesses is verified; the argumentative strategies used; and some issues common to this set of lawsuits, the most relevant being the maintenance of the unit of the slave family, the partus sequitur ventrem principle, and testimonial disqualification.

Keywords : Chile; Episcopal Audience; judicial documentation; ecclesiastical justice; African slavery; 17^th century; 18^th century.

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