Militias slaves and local power: the practice of command in the Minas Gold

Abstract

This paper aims to reflect on the possibilities of using armed slaves by local potentates of the district of Vila Rica in Minas Gerais, in the first half of the eighteenth century. We Suppose what arm slaves was made possible owing the inclusion the slaves in the clientelism networks with their masters who, in turn, reveal the existence of reciprocities and negotiations (uneven), as well as gains for both groups.