Mobility and Resilience: Afro-Descendant Women's Rhetoric in Legal Narratives of the Iberian Atlantic

This paper delves into the strategic use of rhetorical language by Afro-descendant women in legal cases presented before key colonial institutions: the Court of Mexico, the Casa de la Contratación in Seville, and the Ecclesiastical Court of Lima. These cases, when viewed as individual yet interconnected narratives, reveal the complex socio-legal tapestry of colonial America in the 16th and early 17th centuries. The study advocates for a transatlantic analytical framework, aiming to deepen the understanding of these narratives on both sides of the Atlantic. It sheds light on the nuanced mobilities of these women, not merely as individuals navigating geographical spaces for personal or economic reasons, but as racialized figures who strategically employ their own movements and those of others—like their husbands—to consolidate their narratives and amplify their voices within legal discourses. This presentation argues that these black women, diverse in their socioeconomic standings and versed in judicial mechanisms, adeptly navigate, transform, and confront conventional paradigms of marriage and family. By dissecting these legal pleas, it highlights the unique ways these transatlantic women of color assert their legal identities and defend their rights. Their profound comprehension of marriage, family, and sexuality—collectively fostered through their shared experiences as marginalized, mobile figures—emerges as a testament to their resilience and agency in a racially stratified colonial landscape.