In 1886, twelve slaves were registered in an official document with their color, age and economic value.

• List of slaves belonging to D. Carlota Francisca da Rocha.
• One page.
• In Portuguese.
• 43 cm x 30 cm.
• Municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, 1886.
• Good condition conservation, except in the lower left part but without damaging the writing.
• Unique piece.

This document is a record of slaves belonging to a plantation or estate in Brazil. It is dated May 14, 1886, about two years before the abolition of slavery in Brazil with the signing of the Lei Áurea in 1888. It is notable for several reasons:

- It shows a level of detail in the management of slaves, with specific columns for name, skin color, age, marital status and nationality, which reflects the bureaucracy organized around slavery. For example, “Bento” (line 1), a slave of “black” skin color, 30 years old (“thirty years”).

- The fact that the skin color of slaves is recorded in the “Color” column is a striking aspect. This shows the obsession of the time with categorizing individuals according to their race, associating this information with their economic value. For example, “Chica” is described as “black,” and “Benedita” as “brown” (mixed race).

- The part that mentions the “value given according to the table” is very revealing. It shows how human beings were treated as commodities, valued monetarily according to unspecified criteria (age, profession, physical condition, etc.). We see values ​​such as “eight hundred thousand réis” for slaves like Bento or Benedita. This sum reflects their value in the slave market, which could vary depending on their profession, skills or health status. Some slaves were considered more valuable than others. Benedita is mentioned as a “domestic servant”, which means that she probably worked in the main house, something that often indicated a hierarchy among the slaves themselves, with some working in the fields and others inside the house.

- The date (1886) is also very important, as it is two years before the abolition of slavery in Brazil (on May 13, 1888 with the Lei Áurea). At that time, there was already pressure to end slavery, and some owners began to free their slaves. This document is one of the last of its kind.

- The document is signed, and there are names written at the bottom that suggest the involvement of a local authority or administrator. This shows that the slave registration process was strictly controlled by local institutions. The signature of “José Joaquim Penna da Rocha” is notable, possibly indicating the owner of the plantation.

In Brazil, slavery lasted for more than three centuries (from 1530 until its abolition in 1888), and during this period, it was common for slave owners to keep similar records. Slaves were considered valuable assets, and the management of their information (name, age, origin, profession, etc.) was essential for economic, fiscal and administrative reasons. These documents were often kept by the owners themselves or by local authorities for legal transactions, inheritances or wealth estimates.

Over time, with the abolition of slavery and the evolution of Brazilian society, these documents were lost, destroyed or dispersed. Therefore, those that survived are considered important pieces of history. Those that contain personal details, such as age, skin color, marital status and economic values ​​of the slaves, are particularly rare and valuable. This is why this document is remarkable and should absolutely be preserved by a high-level private collector or a public institution.