Miquelina registered her petition for emancipation in 1844. Petitions made by liberated Africans and their employers are prime sources for reconstructing their life stories. Such requests ranged in scope from petitions made by liberated Africans for final emancipation, after completing their period of service, to requests to change their place of employment (whether to follow a spouse, avoid undue physical punishment or for other reasons). As for employers, one finds requests for changing the concession or the place of employment, requests for dismissal of service, complaints of bad behaviour, and so forth (Mamigonian, 2002; Cavalheiro, 2015). Any dispute between liberated Africans and employers that went beyond household boundaries could be settled by the Ministry of Justice, often represented by the Judge of Orphans. Therefore, when Miquelina decided to seek emancipation, she went to the Ministry of Justice and, with the help of a representative, filed a petition.  
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[^0]:    2 Collection of the Laws of the Brazilian Empire, 1808-1889, including: Charter of 26 January 1818, establishing penalties for those engaged in illegal slave trade; Decree No. 1303 of 28 December 1853, declaration that liberated Africans whose services were for private employers were to be emancipated after 14 years of service, when they so requested, and regulations for the destiny of said Africans.
3 The original reads 'liberta dos que o são pelo inciso $1^{2}$ do Alvará com força de Lei, de 26 de Janeiro de 1818, e artigo $1^{2}$ da Carta de Lei de 7 de abril de $1831^{\prime}$.