On 3 October 1758, a royal alvará ordered that jailers in Brazil provide sustenance to enslaved people held in prison and not use their labor for private service. The order acknowledged a specific form of abuse: incarcerated people were compelled to work for their captors. It set a limit on jailers’ conduct without challenging their enslaved legal status or the wider institution. The archival record makes visible how slavery permeated not only plantations and mines but also prisons and the colonial justice system.
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What abuse did the 3 October 1758 alvará seek to stop?
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Explanation
The order barred jailers from using enslaved prisoners as labor.
The October 1758 alvará targeted jailers who exploited enslaved prisoners’ labor.
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Explanation
It ordered jailers to provide support and prohibited using their labor.