Teatro, tráfico negreiro e política no Rio de Janeiro imperial (1845-1858): os casos de Luiz Carlos Martins Penna e José Bernardino de Sá

Using the minutes of the Chamber of Deputies, the lyrical feuilletons, the letters from the board of directors of the São Pedro de Alcântara Theater and the proceedings of the Questão Villa Nova do Minho, as the main sources, this article seeks to shed light on the network made up of artists, theatrical empresários, and politicians in the imperial Rio de Janeiro, on the period in which the slave trade was totally prohibited. The main figures involved will be the playwright and musician Luiz Carlos Martins Penna (1815-1848) and the Portuguese baron, viscount and slave trafficker, José Bernardino de Sá (c. 1802-1855), President of the Board of the São Pedro de Alcântara Theater, where the majority of Martins Penna’s comedies were staged. The period covered in the article begins when two of his comedies were censored, being finalized with the judicial dispute for the bulk inheritance of Jose Bernardino de Sá. Keywords: comedy; black slavery; censorship.