Assaulted Bodies: The Case of Two Enslaved Black Women in the Port City of Santa María de los Ángeles de Buenos Aires, 1772–1778

doi:10.1017/9781108976893.009

Chapter 8 - Assaulted Bodies: The Case of Two Enslaved Black Women in the Port City of Santa María de los Ángeles de Buenos Aires, 1772–1778

from Part II - Body

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 November 2022

Mariselle Meléndez

Edited by

Rocío Quispe-Agnoli and

Amber Brian

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Rocío Quispe-Agnoli: Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Amber Brian: Affiliation:
University of Iowa

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Summary

Legal documents of the late colonial period enable us to understand how this agency was negotiated in domestic and public spaces and how black women became key protagonists in their struggle for respect and survival. This essay examines the case of two female slaves who lived in the port city of Santa María de los Angeles de Buenos Aires who were victims of physical abuse by two male acquaintances: resulting in death in one case and in a state of coma in the other. This chapter discusses how the recollection of events by both female slaves and their respective assailants transitioned from the public space to the official legal space of power. It analyzes how both women, prior to the end results of the physical abuse they suffered, fought for their right to be believed and respected especially when it came to their material bodies. In the context of my discussion, the body is understood as a vehicle for thought and action while simultaneously implicated in power relations and social order and disorder.

Keywords

African slaves colonial black women African body Buenos Aires criminal case female agency legal system pain port city power and space

Type: Chapter
Information: Latin American Literature in Transition Pre-1492–1800 , pp. 121 - 134

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108976893.009 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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