Good government and slavery in San Miguel de Tucumán (1808)

the case of Josefa

Abstract

This article analyzes two legal cases processed in San Miguel de Tucumán in 1808, following a dispute between the Aguilar brothers over the possession of a slave named Josefa. Through a detailed examination of these documents, it explores key categories
of the Ancien Régime, such as good government, jurisdictional culture, and household governance. The study combines judicial source analysis with a hermeneutic approach, drawing on critical legal history, political philosophy, and slavery studies. It examines
how the domestic sphere operated as a space for administering justice, and how familial, affective, and patrimonial ties shaped access to rights and the exercise of authority. It also reflects on the legal concept of the “person” and its limits when applied to wom-
en and enslaved individuals. The case reveals how legal proceedings coexisted with customary and affective forms of justice, which often came into tension with formal legal frameworks. The case of Josefa allows us to reflect on the boundaries between
body, property, and subjectivity, and illustrates how the ideal of good government systematically excluded those who, paradoxically, were central actors in legal conflicts.