Race and Gender in a Tropical Democracy:
Xica da Silva and Black Women' Agency in Colonial Brazil

Since the beginning of colonization, women of African descent have developed and utilized a variety of strategies to resist racism, sexism, homophobia, and multiple intersecting forms of oppression and exploitation. These strategies of resistance, despite their significance in shedding light on the lives of enslaved women, have yet to be adequately investigated. This talk aims to address these intersections through the historical and mythical figure of Xica da Silva, a woman of African descent who lived in eighteenth-century Brazil.