Partus sequitur ventrem: reproduction and motherhood in the settlement of slavery and abolition in the Americas until the first half of 19th century

This essay aims to investigate the importance of enslaved black women both in shaping the slavery system in the Americas and in overcoming it. Since the colonization process, the enslaved womb has occupied a fundamental place, in which a person\'s enslaved condition was determined by the status of their mother. By the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, the matrilineality of slavery was cemented. The first experiences of abolition of slavery in the Americas until the first half of the 19th century sought to break with the inheritance of slavery and, again, the womb of black women was essential. At the same time, an Anglo-American abolitionism ascended whose discourse on femininity and social roles defined by gender had as their focus the enslaved woman and the recovery of her feminine virtues, withdrawn by the slavery system. Such speeches about black women had a direct impact on their lives, therefore we analyzed the representations made by white abolitionists - men and women - about black women, in confrontation with black women\'s own self-representation and activism against slavery and racism in United States, between 1830 and 1850. Based on that, we pursue to trace the place occupied by the womb and the black female body in slavery and abolition. (AU)