Social Development in the Agrarian Structure of Santiago
- Society
In Santiago the population migrated to the inland areas, particularly to the alluvions of the banks (tchom di massapé) and the plateaus. This migration occurred in the context of a need for land. The laws of the “Sesmarias” (a Portuguese juridical institute) were instituted in the 14th Century and still applied in Cape Verde and Brazil for the following centuries, stated that the land belonged to those who cultivated it. Together with the regime ofmorgadio(Majorat) (and at this time the Provedoria das Capelas e Morgadios - Provider/Ombudsman of Chapes and Majorats), which prevented property from being divided or expropriated, they meant that in Santiago, and to a certain extent in Fogo, the inhabitants were particularly tied to their lands, and they extracted the maximum production from them, unlike on the other islands, which remained the property of the donataries, who often did not even bother to go there, preferring to lease them and live from the profits thus obtained.
It could be argued that the individual character of the typical Cape Verdean was moulded here, in the inland areas of Santiago in this agricultural setting. Although the golden age of commerce of the rivers of Guinea undoubtedly had a seminal effect on the creation of the Creole identity, particularly because it brought the elements that would shape this model to Cape Verde, the estates of the banks and central plateau were the real cultural melting pot, established and lasting, based on the three pillars mentioned above, of theCreole language,mixingandreligiousmysticisminfused by the Catholic church.
As can be seen from the reports from priests visiting the 8 parishes of the inland areas of Santiago in the 16th Century, the Creole world was already structure in this initial phase, when it was led by land owners who also carried out external trade or even high-level functionarie. These leaders had their residences and offices in Ribeira Grande or Praia, making up an educated elite with managemen habilities. Slaves were still arriving, but in residual numbers, and they were entirely absorbed by the Creole society, which, under the tutelage of the parish, cultivated different values and customs than those on the continent. However these were not so different that their doctrine and teaching would cause consternation among the neophytes when they accepted the precepts of the gospel, as animism has values that are in harmony with those of Christianity.
Apart from the heinous aspect of their condition that deprived them of their liberty, the life of the slaves is now uniformly condemned, although at the time it was accepted by the entire society, even in this evolved world. It was carried out in a framework that left an increasing number of windows for freeing of slaves, humanisation and self-management, through benevolent actions of slave masters concerned with their destiny after death, and for motives of convenience, such as prevention of labour revolts or motivation for work on the estate. The so-called “brecha camponesa” (peasant breach), which granted the slaves the right to cultivate a small plot of land for their own benefit, for which they gained the right to the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) can be understood in this context. The progressive professional promotion of workers should be understood in the same way. On the estates they rose to specialised positions such as horticulturalists, cowboys, weavers, feitores (trade superintendents), masters of sugar… The records of the era classifyslavesinto boçais (those who had just arrived from Guinea, before any assimilation to the Creole world, who were a minority by the end of the 16th Century), ladinos (speaking Creole and adapted to the habits of the new community), and crioulos (Creoles) (just by “caste” or for “service”). This category allowed career progression in slave labour, both from a technical perspective, and from the perspective of social advancement. This advancement was generally desired by slaves, and some of them, particularly the so-called “indoor slaves”, used arguments that were sometimes captious and highly convincing, to achieve freedom for their Creole children, and even adoption and benefaction from the slave masters, at the same time as they achieved it for themselves. They used fidelity, friendship, a beauty, and sexual attraction, to seduce the slave masters, who often considered them in their wills, if not in life. This attitude bespeaks a climate where death was ever present (the perspective of death loomed large over the preoccupations of life) in the Christian experience of the time.
While the slave masters, the freed slaves and the Creoles were guided by the practice of church precepts and conventional society in matters that concerned marriage, the slaves were permitted free unions, making the slave society in Cape Verde matriarchal, which had the advantage for the slave masters of bringing an increase in the birth rate, and thus the prospective workforce. The church was increasingly opposed to this regime, and in 1701 the king obliged the slave masters to sell freed slaves their wives.
In Santiago the population migrated to the inland areas, particularly to the alluvions of the banks (tchom di massapé) and the plateaus. This migration occurred in the context of a need for land. The laws of the “Sesmarias” (a Portuguese juridical institute) were instituted in the 14th Century and still applied in Cape Verde and Brazil for the following centuries, stated that the land belonged to those who cultivated it. Together with the regime ofmorgadio(Majorat) (and at this time the Provedoria das Capelas e Morgadios - Provider/Ombudsman of Chapes and Majorats), which prevented property from being divided or expropriated, they meant that in Santiago, and to a certain extent in Fogo, the inhabitants were particularly tied to their lands, and they extracted the maximum production from them, unlike on the other islands, which remained the property of the donataries, who often did not even bother to go there, preferring to lease them and live from the profits thus obtained.
It could be argued that the individual character of the typical Cape Verdean was moulded here, in the inland areas of Santiago in this agricultural setting. Although the golden age of commerce of the rivers of Guinea undoubtedly had a seminal effect on the creation of the Creole identity, particularly because it brought the elements that would shape this model to Cape Verde, the estates of the banks and central plateau were the real cultural melting pot, established and lasting, based on the three pillars mentioned above, of theCreole language,mixingandreligiousmysticisminfused by the Catholic church.
As can be seen from the reports from priests visiting the 8 parishes of the inland areas of Santiago in the 16th Century, the Creole world was already structure in this initial phase, when it was led by land owners who also carried out external trade or even high-level functionarie. These leaders had their residences and offices in Ribeira Grande or Praia, making up an educated elite with managemen habilities. Slaves were still arriving, but in residual numbers, and they were entirely absorbed by the Creole society, which, under the tutelage of the parish, cultivated different values and customs than those on the continent. However these were not so different that their doctrine and teaching would cause consternation among the neophytes when they accepted the precepts of the gospel, as animism has values that are in harmony with those of Christianity.
Apart from the heinous aspect of their condition that deprived them of their liberty, the life of the slaves is now uniformly condemned, although at the time it was accepted by the entire society, even in this evolved world. It was carried out in a framework that left an increasing number of windows for freeing of slaves, humanisation and self-management, through benevolent actions of slave masters concerned with their destiny after death, and for motives of convenience, such as prevention of labour revolts or motivation for work on the estate. The so-called “brecha camponesa” (peasant breach), which granted the slaves the right to cultivate a small plot of land for their own benefit, for which they gained the right to the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) can be understood in this context. The progressive professional promotion of workers should be understood in the same way. On the estates they rose to specialised positions such as horticulturalists, cowboys, weavers, feitores (trade superintendents), masters of sugar… The records of the era classifyslavesinto boçais (those who had just arrived from Guinea, before any assimilation to the Creole world, who were a minority by the end of the 16th Century), ladinos (speaking Creole and adapted to the habits of the new community), and crioulos (Creoles) (just by “caste” or for “service”). This category allowed career progression in slave labour, both from a technical perspective, and from the perspective of social advancement. This advancement was generally desired by slaves, and some of them, particularly the so-called “indoor slaves”, used arguments that were sometimes captious and highly convincing, to achieve freedom for their Creole children, and even adoption and benefaction from the slave masters, at the same time as they achieved it for themselves. They used fidelity, friendship, a beauty, and sexual attraction, to seduce the slave masters, who often considered them in their wills, if not in life. This attitude bespeaks a climate where death was ever present (the perspective of death loomed large over the preoccupations of life) in the Christian experience of the time.
While the slave masters, the freed slaves and the Creoles were guided by the practice of church precepts and conventional society in matters that concerned marriage, the slaves were permitted free unions, making the slave society in Cape Verde matriarchal, which had the advantage for the slave masters of bringing an increase in the birth rate, and thus the prospective workforce. The church was increasingly opposed to this regime, and in 1701 the king obliged the slave masters to sell freed slaves their wives.
