10 - The planters: masters of men and cane

Summary

An engenho is hell and all the masters of them are damned.

Andrés de Gouvea (1627)

No group in Brazilian history has more of a patina of legendary grandeur than the senhores de engenho of the Northeast. Despite the fact that by the nineteenth century it was proverbial to say, senhor de engenho, morto de fome, cheio de empenho (“sugar planter, dying of hunger, loaded with debt”), the planters remained at the pinnacle of the social hierarchy, projecting an image of nobility, wealth, and power. This image was based on their continued control of land and slaves and on the traditional role of local potentate that many had assumed. The senhores de engenho, however, are not simply a social type easily transposed from one epoch to another but are also a class formed over time, developing historically and manifesting different characteristics at different dates. Moreover, there was considerable variation within their ranks, so that although many aspired to reach the apex of the social pyramid, only a small proportion attained this goal. The planters set the social standards of the colony and came closest to approximating metropolitan models. Thus, by examining their composition and behavior, we can establish the norm against which others in society, were measured.