202557(en)/43 - “A Marriage Has Been Formed... All Draped in Black”. Afro Marriages and Social Strategies in Arica, 18th Century
“A MARRIAGE HAS BEEN FORMED... ALL DRAPED IN BLACK”. AFRO MARRIAGES AND SOCIAL STRATEGIES IN ARICA, 18TH CENTURY
“SE HA FORMADO UN CASAMIENTO… TODO CUBIERTO DE NEGRO”. MATRIMONIOS AFROS Y ESTRATEGIAS SOCIALES EN ARICA. SIGLO XVIII
Carolina Cortés Silva and Alberto Díaz Araya
This article examines the marriages of Afro-descendant women recorded in the Corregimiento de Arica during the 18th century. The research is based on documents from parish registers and matrimonial records preserved in the Archdiocesan Archive of Arequipa (Peru), the Archdiocesan Archive of Lima (Peru), and the marriage records of the Vicente Dagnino Historical Archive (Arica). Drawing on these sources, we analyze the marital unions that were formalized, whether prompted by specific circumstances or employed as a strategy to improve their enslaved condition, taking advantage of the sacrament of matrimony as a favorable resource. The central purpose is to explore the relationships formed around marriage and the family networks of the Afro-descendant population of Arica, considering this bond as a mechanism of articulation and resistance in the face of the oppression and social and economic vulnerability they faced.
