## Introduction  
'Fourteen years old, round face, big eyes, flat nose, big lips, small ears, without body marks'. ${ }^{1}$ This is how Miquelina Conga was described in 1835, shortly after receiving the legal status of 'liberated African', a category involving quasifreedom that followed British efforts to suppress the slave trade. This status would represent a major change in her life, perhaps comparable only to the change she suffered at the time of her capture in Africa, subsequent to which she was sold and transported as an enslaved person to the Americas. Belonging to the 'liberated African' category meant that she was subject to specific laws and conditions of labour and exploitation. In addition, being a liberated African in a country where slavery still existed was a challenge, since attempts to enslave those thus designated were not unusual (Mamigonian, 2002; Florence, 2002; Chalhoub, 2012).  
In Brazil, many regulations were created to deal with liberated Africans. The first one was the Charter of 1818, by which all apprehended Africans in illegal slave ships were to be considered free and returned to Africa. When this was not possible, they were to fulfil 14 years of service under the responsibility of the  
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[^0]:    1 Arquivo Nacional GIFI 6D 12.  
imperial government, and were expected to learn the Portuguese language and the customs and religion of Brazil. However, the return to Africa did not happen often, and most liberated Africans remained in Brazil (Mamigonian, 2002).