Page:The Forgotten in the Independence Process.pdf/13

 Lucia Maria Bastos Pereira das Neves The forgotten in the independence process: a history to be made

Almanack, Guarulhos, n. 25, ef00220, 2020 http://doi.org/10.1590/2236-463325ef00220 This provocation was permeated by the rhetoric of the texts of the French Revolution of 1789 - “''Citoyens! Aux armes!''” - even if it did not reflect the same climate, as the objective was not to dethrone the reigning dynasty - that of Bragança, since they believed in the sovereign’s innocence -, but rather to remove their ministers and the validated. The proposal therefore intended to break the shackles of despotism that had been so long, it was believed, oppressed the Portuguese-Brazilians. An acceleration of time was envisaged for these men who perceived a new proposal for the organization of politics in society that differed from the past. That present experienced by such individuals constituted a fundamental key to build the future.

Thus, through these sources, produced in moments of political turbulence and still very little explored, a new dimension of events unfolds, that is, the political involvement of the popular strata in this process. Consequently, new actors come to the surface, becoming unique due to their anonymity and bringing other perspectives that allow different explanations of the past.

Another point that deserves interest and analysis, as there are still few studies on the subject due to the rarity of the sources, is the role of slaves in the process of separating Brazil from Portugal, especially regarding their role in the Independence wars. Anonymous, for the most part, formed distinct groups that often opposed each other - the Creole and brown slaves, born in Brazil, and the Africans. In addition to what has already been studied by João José Reis, the role attributed to a “black party” in the Independence movement, as reported by a French informant, probably written after 1823, was that this “party of blacks and people of color ”was the most dangerous,“

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