Slaves of Religion: Paternalism and Resistance, Brazil.

SLAVESRELIGION is an interdisciplinary proposal aimed at understanding the process of implementation, exploitation and perpetuation of slavery in the properties of the Luso-Brazilian Benedictine Congregation between 1750 and 1871, highlighting issues related to Gender, Race and Slavery in the Atlantic world.

It also intends to analyse the resistance strategies built by enslaved men and women against the disciplinary and moralising measures of the Order of Saint Benedict.

The project aims to demonstrate that this Congregation played an important role in the construction of modern slavery, transforming it into one of the richest and most powerful Slave Orders in Brazil.

The Benedictines built efficient and durable strategies for managing slaves through measures designed to control female behaviour, access to freedom, and reproduction.

Despite the importance of this Congregation in the construction of modern slavery, few historians have analysed its peculiarities. There are indications that this Religious Order encouraged its slaves to own slaves.

Moreover, there is also evidence that they encouraged enslaved women to reproduce in exchange for benefits (especially freedom).

Besides, there are suggestions that they allowed slaves to accumulate patrimony and pass it on by inheritance to their heirs.

The results of this research will be disseminated through various means, such as social media, digital platforms and seminars, among others.

When concluded, the research will render three scientific articles on the peculiar slave management of the Benedictines and the resistance strategies of the enslaved population, with a special focus on slave women.