Escravidão "suave" no Brasil: Gilberto Freyre tinha razão?

Abstract

"Soft" slavery in Brazil: was Gilberto Freyre right? This article examines the question of the supposedly benign character of Brazilian slavery in contrast with North America slavery. In economic analyses of slavery, coercion toward slaves is viewed as a means to achieve maximum output, especially in large-scale agriculture. In small slave holdings, however, coercion was generally inefficient for that purpose, and positive incentives tended to be preferred. It is argued that, as recent evidence on Brazil has shown that small slave holdings prevailed in various regions and periods, this may lend empirical support to the notion of a relatively benign slavery, using more incentives than coercion.Key-words: slave work; Brazil: slavery; Brazil: XIX century JEL Classification: N36 INTRODUÇÃO A idéia de que a escravidão no Brasil era em geral mais benigna do que em outras partes do Novo Mundo remonta pelo menos ao século XVIII, e tem despertado extensa controvérsia. As argumentações sobre o tema na literatura em geral têm pouca base empírica e costumam centrar-se no jogo de interesses que estaria associado à difusão daquela interpretação. Vários autores consideraram a tese da benignidade uma mera expressão da ideologia das camadas dominantes no século XIX; sua divulgação, especialmente no exterior, faria parte dos esfor-