Commentary No. 047
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Date: 1576, November 11. Santo Domingo, La Española.
Theme: A deed of freedom or manumission certificate was issued in La Española in favor of Maria and Francisca Davila, Black women, mother and daughter, former slaves of Francisco Dávila
Source: Archivo General de Indias, Sección Justicia, Legajo 25, CUNY DSI Dominican Colonial Documents Collection
In 1576 a law suit was being ventilated in Santo Domingo City between members of the rich Dávila family clan over inheritance rights related to the mayorazgo or set of entailed properties that belonged to the family in La Española, including a number of enslaved Black Africans and their descendants, some of them probably colony-born individuals. One of the documents that was produced in the process mentioned how Gaspar Dávila granted status of freedom to the enslaved Black woman named María Dávila with whom he had a mulatto daughter named Francisca, to whom he also granted freedom.
The original deed was dated in Santo Domingo, at the Audiencia, on Tuesday, January 21st of 1556, and was done by the “notary of their majesties” Diego de Herrera. A copy of the document, done twenty years later, survived. In the deed Francisca, daughter of María, is said to have been of “nine months” of age at the time. It also indicated that both mother and daughter were Christian. Among the justifications mentioned by Gaspar to grant freedom to María were “the many and very good services that you the said Maria did to Francisco de Avila my lord, may he be in glory, and [that] you have done to me.”
In the deed, Dávila submits himself to the ordinary justice in case he does not adhere to the commitment and promise, renouncing his “fuero” or legal privileges. He also resigned the “right of patronage” over the former slaves. Witnesses were Pero Mendez de Sotomayor and Juan de [ ]nes and Alonso Romero, denizens. Witnesses to the copying of the deed were Juan Clavijo, Cristóbal de La Cruz and Cristóbal Hervaz, denizens. Lorencio Garcia, public notary of the city was the one producing the copy.
In the copy of the document Juan Daza or Juan Dávila, cousin of Gaspar Dávila and city council member and denizen of the City of Concepción de La Vega then staying at the city of Santo Domingo, ratified that his cousin Dávila, denizen and councilmember of the City of Santo Domingo, had issued the deed to María de Avila, “prieta,” and to Francisca her “mulatto” daughter on the indicated date and that the two women were part of the slaves left by the late Francisco de Avila at his house.
On April 8th of 1556 Daza claimed to be, or consider himself, the “successor” in Gaspar Dávila’s house because Gaspar, his cousin, had no heirs. Reportedly other “persons” had asked Daza to liberate María, and he granted her freedom putting forth his assets as guarantee of his commitment, but under the condition that María worked for him for another year, counted from the day of the issuing of the deed, after which mother and daughter would be “freed and free.” Some of the rights they would be entitled to as free individuals are listed –in what constitutes, by opposition, like an implicit brief description of some of the basic, socially sanctioned, discriminations entailed in the enslaved status at the time-- including the capacity to write a testament, leave inheritance to their offspring or designees, get involved in law suits, reside where they pleased and conduct trade. Daza signed his statement also before the notary Diego de Herrera. Juan de Monroy and Alonsode Peña and Pedro López and Gonzalo Hostios, denizens and present in Santo Domingo were witnesses to the promise.
The referred surviving copy of the original deed of freedom was done on Tuesday, 10 of November of 1573 by Alonso de Medina, notary of his majesty, from the records left to him by notary Herrera before passing away. Luis de Alcalá and Luis Pérez de Calatrava and Miguel del Valle, denizens of the city, were witnesses to the copy. Lorencio García, notary public and of his majesty and public of the City of Santo Domingo was present to everything. Three years later, on 11th of December of 1576, before the president and oidores, Juan de Esquivel formally requested that Juan Daza was to be cited about the copy. The request was signed as well by “Licenciado Torres.” That same day the oidores ordered the copy to be given to Daza.
A probanza or set of testimonies by witnesses was collected by Juan de Avila in the law suit with Alonso Timoteo de Avila, about the mayorazgo left by the late Francisco Dávila. Some additional implicit allegations are provided in the the questions to witnesses presented by the party of Juan de Avila, like the fact that the slave María stayed in the house serving Gaspar de Avila, successor and heir of the mayorazgo, after Francisco Dávila passed away, and continued to serve Gaspar until he also passed. María was not iron-branded in the face with the name of Francisco de Avila “like other slaves of his.” But the young Francisca, a mulatto daughter of María and Gaspar Dávila born after Francisco de Avila died, despite of being known as his daughter was iron-branded under his orders, and he “tried to get her married honorably.” Also Gaspar de Avila reportedly did not have legitimate children or heirs nor successors. Thus Juan de Avila had reportedly succeeded in the mayorazgo, and had supposedly put in additional male and female slaves of his own, more than thirty in the prior six years, so that the farms looked reportedly looked in better shape at the time of the inquiry.