Miquelina's petition, which was filed in May 1844, nine years after she started working under the guardianship of her employer, requested her deposit. Since she was being referred to as a slave, the petition argued, the terms of guardianship under which her services were conceded to the employer should be terminated on account of non-observance of the regulations. In addition, the petition requested emancipation prior to fulfilment of the 14 years of service. This was based on the provision of the Charter of 1818 according to which liberated Africans who had already acquired the skills and independence necessary for living on their own before the end of the 14 years should be emancipated if they demonstrated what was called 'good behaviour'. ${ }^{9}$ Miquelina and Jose Gomes da Silva used the argument that she was a good servant and demonstrated good behaviour.  
Although the exploitation of the labour of liberated Africans was similar to that of the labour of enslaved people, the law stipulated a difference between the two categories of people. And, as E. P. Thompson has suggested, laws and regulations can only work and be respected if they present the possibility of being used by anyone in a society (1975). Thus, what this case highlights is  
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[^0]:    7 See also Mamigonian, 2002, p. 99, and Arquivo Nacional GIFI 6D 12, Petition of emancipation of Miquelina Conga.
8 This is a loose translation. It is important to remember that during the years of slavery in Brazil, reference to a person as a black man or woman meant that he or she was property. See Mattos, 2013.
9 Charter of 1818.  
not only the exploitation of labour, but also the possibilities of fighting against that exploitation. The very same laws that stipulated periods of service and forms of labour - and therefore exploitation - also held forth the possibility of emancipation.