al, during which time they had to learn certain
prayers.[30] Most interesting is the existence among the Brazilian
slaves of their own religious brotherhoods, to join which was the
ambition of every Negro slave. These brotherhoods had their own
versions of the Virgin Mary and Our Lady of the Rosary had her hands
and face painted black.[31]

SLAVE RIGHTS

Properly speaking, a true slave has no legal rights. Perhaps the words
privileges and permits are happier. At any rate, the obligations and
restrictions in the Old South were far more stringent than those on
the plantations and urban districts of Brazil. Privileges and
restrictions for slaves in the South varied according to the laws of
the States; whereas in Brazil the centralized colonial government
tended to unify what slavery legislation there was.

In both countries, theoretically, a master was liable for
indiscriminately killing his slaves or for practising cruelty. To be
sure, the penalty was slight for so great an offense, but public
opinion in Brazil, especially, more than once pointed its finger at
the brutal master. In practice, even the slightest defense of a
maltreated slave was rarely heard before the magistrates, for no slave
in the case of the South could bear witness against a white. In Brazil
the ouvidor of the province was the one to punish the cruel master,
but then, who would dare report?[32] In Brazil, if a slave was unruly
he was to be turned over to state authorities, and duly given a public
punishment.[33]

In the Old South it was possible under certain circumstances for the
slave to buy his own freedom, that is, if the master was kindly
disposed. In Brazil, it is commonly affirmed that the master was
obliged to free his slave if the latter could furnish a sum equivalent
to his market price.[34] As a matter of practice, it was easy for the
master to deny freedom to his slave under such conditions, and the
slave for lack of strength would have to accept the outcome meekly.
Furthermore, Christie, British envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary in Brazil during the period of the American Civil War,
in a letter to Earl Russell in June, 1861, declares that no such law
actually exists on the statute books of Brazil, as that the slave has
the right to appear before a magistrate, have his price fixed and to
purchase his freedom.[35]

Moreover, the Brazilian slave exercised some right to change masters.
The master set a price upon his s