This article intends to demonstrate why, in order to understand the freed-slaves and their descendants participation in the formation of First Republic labor movements, we must go beyond studies that characterize human agency mostly in terms of individual experiences without further trying to fit them into structural analyses of labor market, relations of production and labor processes. The argument is built by means of a concrete analysis carried through an explanation of certain nineteenth century ordinary language terms as well as by a discussion of the concept of freedom and its implicit meanings in speeches made both by employers and workers in times of open conflict.
slaves "ganhadores"; free "ganhadores"; port workers; labor movement; liberty.