My companions in slavery were not quite so steady as I was, being much given to drink, so that they were not so profitable to my master. I took advantage of this, to raise myself in his opinion, by being very attentive and obedient; but it was all the same, do what I would, I found I had a tyrant to serve, nothing seemed to satisfy him, so I took to drinking likewise, then we were all of a sort, bad master, bad slaves (Baquaqua and Moore, 1854, p. 46; Law and Lovejoy, 2007, pp. 159-160).  
That first attempt by Baquaqua to raise himself in his master's opinion has been interpreted as within the logic of enslavement as he would have known it in Africa - in Djougou where his own Muslim family probably had enslaved  
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[^0]:    11 See for, example, "Chart of the Coast of Brazil from Maranham to the River Plate" in J. Arrow smith, Litho., London. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 22 July 1850. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 USA dcu. G5402.C6E625 1850.C5. Available at: https://www.loc.gov/item/00556625/ (Accessed 5 August 2022.)  
persons in the house and where a master, in keeping with the customary practice in Muslim societies, would manumit an enslaved person as a sign of benevolence during festivals or before their demise (Lovejoy, 2016); and masters obviously chose those for whom they had the greatest affection. As Baquaqua himself made clear, however, that strategy did not work and he tried to flee, hence very likely figured among the Minas and Josés in the 'fugitive slave' notices posted in Pernambuco in 1845 to 1846; ${ }^{12}$ the Minas, Josés, Angolas, Benguelas, Moçambiques, Mandingas and other such terms in what was essentially a 'cultural category used by Europeans to help them distinguish (and conduct surveillance on) groups of Africans by language, religion, country marks, and the like' (Sweet, 2009, p. 300).