Many liberated Africans who fulfilled their period of service under the guardianship of a private employer endured a time when, in addition to the hardships of the service, they were alone and isolated in their workplace. That seems to have been the case of Miquelina, since there were apparently no other liberated Africans conceded to Colonel Manoel Joze de Oliveira. Nor were there any enslaved persons under his responsibility. When analysing the experience of liberated Africans in Brazil, this must be taken into consideration. The forms of labour, social relations, marriage, and even escape that applied to liberated Africans who worked for private individuals and lived in big cities such as Rio de Janeiro differed considerably from those that applied to liberated Africans who served in rural areas, or on frontiers, building roads and toll stations. The latter had more possibilities for establishing networks and strategizing in groups, since they worked in groups and, in many cases, alongside others who were enslaved, free or freed (Mamigonian, 2002; Moreira, 2005; Cavalheiro, 2015).  
Nonetheless, that did not mean that Miquelina did not have any connections with other African people, or with people of African descent,  
[^0]
[^0]:    4 Decree of 13 October 1834 determining that the services of Africans are to be taken under certain conditions; Decree of 19 November 1835 altering the Decree of 1834 related to the services of liberated Africans.