Chica da Silva
Encyclopedia
Chica da Silva, sometimes written as Xica da Silva (Francisca da Silva de Oliveira, c. 1732-1796) was a Brazil
ian woman who became famous for becoming rich and powerful though having been born into slavery
. Her life has been a source of inspiration for many works in television
, film
s, theater and literature
. She is popularly known as the slave who became a queen.
state in Brazil. She lived mainly in Arraial do Tijuco and was the daughter of a Portuguese man
, Antônio Caetano de Sá and his black enslaved lover, Maria da Costa, who was probably from the Gulf of Guinea
or Bahia
. Her first master was the Sergeant Manuel Pires Sardinha, with whom she had two sons: Plácido Pires Sardinha and Simão Pires Sardinha, both studied at the University of Coimbra, in Portugal
. Her second master was Priest Rolim (José da Silva Oliveira), who was forced to sell Chica to João Fernandes de Oliveira, a diamond
mine owner and mining Governor of Arraial to Tijuco, one of the richest persons of Colonial Brazil
.
Francisca and João soon started a romance and she was freed by him. Even though they were not officially married, the couple lived together for several years and had 13 children: Francisca de Paula (1755); João Fernandes (1756); Rita (1757); Joaquim (1759); Antonio Caetano (1761); Ana (1762); Helena (1763); Luiza (1764); Antônia (1765); Maria (1766); Quitéria Rita (1767); Mariana (1769); José Agostinho Fernandes (1770).
In 1770, João Fernandes had to return to Portugal and took along with him the 4 sons he had with Chica, who were granted noble
titles by the Portuguese Court. Their daughters remained with Chica in Brazil and were sent to then renowned Convent
of Macaúbas. Even after the departure of João to Portugal, Chica retained her prestige. She was a member of the São Francisco do Carmo Brotherhood (exclusive to whites), Mercês Brotherhood (exclusive to mulattoes) and of Rosário Brotherhood (exclusive to Africans).
Chica da Silva died in 1796. She was buried at the Church of São Francisco de Assis, a privilege that only wealthy whites enjoyed.
." Currently, however, scholars maintain that she used miscegenation
and her connections as a tool to achieve a higher social status, as did other African Brazilians at the time. Historian Júnia Ferreira Furtado sustains that concubinage and marriage between white male and black female in colonial Brazilian society was a way found by the enslaved to change their social position and to escape racism:
João Fernandes and Chica da Silva's relationship was a scandal in colonial Brazilian society. Chica da Silva, formerly enslaved, had become one of the most powerful women in colonial America. Chica was banished from the parish church, which was reserved for Caucasians only. To show the locals Chica's power, João Fernandes built a luxurious church attended just by herself. However, as Furtado discloses, Chica attended brotherhoods exclusive to whites, as a way to try to fit into the status quo and be aware of its schemes against her and her people.
Contrary to what was propagated, Chica also had enslaved workers and there is only one reference that shows that she granted freedom to one of them. Historians view this as the main difference between the experience of African Americans in Brazil and its counterpart in the United States
. While in the US, African American enslaved individuals had a more unified movement, in Brazil they tried to integrate into mainstream society as mixed-race people saw that "whitening
" themselves was a way to escape from their enslaved past. Although the enslaved didn't have too much of a choice if the master or mistress decided to use them as sex objects, they took advantage of the situation, especially in regard to their offsprings who were part European. The colonial Portuguese mentality was also more tolerant than the US Anglo-Saxon one on race when it had to do with their mixed-race offsprings. Whereas Anglo-Saxon slave holders forced their own race-mixed offprings into slavery and sold them to other masters as well, making a profit from them, Luso-Brazilians generally freed their own mixed-race children and often granted them nobility titles. This happened perhaps because of the lack of Portuguese women that migrated to Brazil.
Filha da Dúvida, Jornal O Estado de Minas
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian woman who became famous for becoming rich and powerful though having been born into slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. Her life has been a source of inspiration for many works in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, theater and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
. She is popularly known as the slave who became a queen.
Biography
Francisca da Silva de Oliveira was born in Vila do Príncipe, in the center of nowadays Minas GeraisMinas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
state in Brazil. She lived mainly in Arraial do Tijuco and was the daughter of a Portuguese man
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, Antônio Caetano de Sá and his black enslaved lover, Maria da Costa, who was probably from the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf....
or Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
. Her first master was the Sergeant Manuel Pires Sardinha, with whom she had two sons: Plácido Pires Sardinha and Simão Pires Sardinha, both studied at the University of Coimbra, in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Her second master was Priest Rolim (José da Silva Oliveira), who was forced to sell Chica to João Fernandes de Oliveira, a diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
mine owner and mining Governor of Arraial to Tijuco, one of the richest persons of Colonial Brazil
Colonial Brazil
In the history of Brazil, Colonial Brazil, officially the Viceroyalty of Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.During the over 300 years...
.
Francisca and João soon started a romance and she was freed by him. Even though they were not officially married, the couple lived together for several years and had 13 children: Francisca de Paula (1755); João Fernandes (1756); Rita (1757); Joaquim (1759); Antonio Caetano (1761); Ana (1762); Helena (1763); Luiza (1764); Antônia (1765); Maria (1766); Quitéria Rita (1767); Mariana (1769); José Agostinho Fernandes (1770).
In 1770, João Fernandes had to return to Portugal and took along with him the 4 sons he had with Chica, who were granted noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
titles by the Portuguese Court. Their daughters remained with Chica in Brazil and were sent to then renowned Convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
of Macaúbas. Even after the departure of João to Portugal, Chica retained her prestige. She was a member of the São Francisco do Carmo Brotherhood (exclusive to whites), Mercês Brotherhood (exclusive to mulattoes) and of Rosário Brotherhood (exclusive to Africans).
Chica da Silva died in 1796. She was buried at the Church of São Francisco de Assis, a privilege that only wealthy whites enjoyed.
The myth
Chica was a symbol of Brazil's so called "racial democracyRacial democracy
Racial democracy is a term used by some to describe race relations in Brazil. The term denotes some scholars' belief that Brazil has escaped racism and racial discrimination. Those researchers contend that Brazilians do not view each other through the lens of race and do not harbor racial...
." Currently, however, scholars maintain that she used miscegenation
Miscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
and her connections as a tool to achieve a higher social status, as did other African Brazilians at the time. Historian Júnia Ferreira Furtado sustains that concubinage and marriage between white male and black female in colonial Brazilian society was a way found by the enslaved to change their social position and to escape racism:
João Fernandes and Chica da Silva's relationship was a scandal in colonial Brazilian society. Chica da Silva, formerly enslaved, had become one of the most powerful women in colonial America. Chica was banished from the parish church, which was reserved for Caucasians only. To show the locals Chica's power, João Fernandes built a luxurious church attended just by herself. However, as Furtado discloses, Chica attended brotherhoods exclusive to whites, as a way to try to fit into the status quo and be aware of its schemes against her and her people.
Contrary to what was propagated, Chica also had enslaved workers and there is only one reference that shows that she granted freedom to one of them. Historians view this as the main difference between the experience of African Americans in Brazil and its counterpart in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. While in the US, African American enslaved individuals had a more unified movement, in Brazil they tried to integrate into mainstream society as mixed-race people saw that "whitening
Racial whitening
Racial Whitening or "Whitening" is an ideology that was widely accepted in Brazil between 1889 and 1914, as the solution to the "Negro problem." Supporters of the Whitening ideology believed that the Negro race would advance culturally and genetically, or even disappear totally, within several...
" themselves was a way to escape from their enslaved past. Although the enslaved didn't have too much of a choice if the master or mistress decided to use them as sex objects, they took advantage of the situation, especially in regard to their offsprings who were part European. The colonial Portuguese mentality was also more tolerant than the US Anglo-Saxon one on race when it had to do with their mixed-race offsprings. Whereas Anglo-Saxon slave holders forced their own race-mixed offprings into slavery and sold them to other masters as well, making a profit from them, Luso-Brazilians generally freed their own mixed-race children and often granted them nobility titles. This happened perhaps because of the lack of Portuguese women that migrated to Brazil.
Works
- Xica da Silva (movie): a film released in 1976, by Cacá Diegues, starring Zezé Motta as Chica da Silva.
- Xica da Silva (telenovela): a telenovelaTelenovelaA telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
released in 1996, written by Walcyr Carrasco and directed by Walter Avancini. It has been successful in several countries around the world. Starring as Xica da Silva, the actress Taís AraújoTaís AraújoTaís Bianca Gama de Araújo is a Brazilian actress. She was the first black Brazilian actress to be a protagonist in a Brazilian telenovela, Xica da Silva , in Rede Manchete...
was the first black Brazilian to be the protagonist of a soap-opera. She is still the only black actress to be the protagonist of a telenovela on Brazilian TV History. She also played a protagonist again in GloboGloboGlobo may refer to*Organizações Globo, media conglomerate*Rede Globo, a television network in Brazil*Radio Globo, a radio station in Honduras...
's Da Cor do Pecado.
External links
Xica da SilvaFilha da Dúvida, Jornal O Estado de Minas
Further reading
- Cheney, Glenn Alan, Journey on the Estrada Real: Encounters in the Mountains of Brazil, (Xicago: Academy Xicago, 2004) ISBN 0-89733-530-9
- Ferreira Furtado, Júnia . Chica da Silva e o contratador de diamantes: o outro lado do mito, (São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2003).
- Ferreira Furtado, Júnia. Chica da Silva: A Brazilian Slave of the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge University Press, 2009). (Translation of Chica da Silva e o contratador de diamantes.