Resumo No Brasil oitocentista, o significado social do "viver sobre si", ao chegar aos tribunais, era traduzido em termos jurídicos. Assim, conflitos sociais adquiriam uma linguagem jurídica delimitada pela teoria possessória. Porém, apesar do "viver sobre si" ter sido invocado desde pelo menos o século XVIII, a análise de 270 processos evidencia que as ações de manutenção de liberdade surgiram, como procedimento judicial específico, a partir de 1840. Tais procedimentos tiveram seus contornos desenhados na prática judicial, e sua construção vinculou-se a um contexto mais geral de "modernização" institucional e jurídica.

Abstract In nineteenth century Brazil, the social meaning of to "live on one's own", once it reached the courts of justice, was translated into legal terms. The social conflicts thus acquired a legal language based on juridical theories of possession. Despite the fact that "living on one's own" had been invoked in courts since at least the 18th century, the analysis of 270 lawsuits shows that the "maintenance of freedom" lawsuits emerged as a specific judicial procedure in the 1840s. These procedures were shaped by judicial practice and their construction was linked to a broader context of institutional and legal "modernization".

Résumé Au Brésil du XIXe siècle, le sens social de "vivre comme quelqu'un libre" était traduit dans les tribunaux en termes juridiques. Ainsi, les conflits sociaux acquéraient un langage juridique délimité par la théorie de la possession. Cependant, quoique l'argument du "vivre comme quelqu'un libre" ait été invoqué au moins depuis le XVIIIe siècle, l'analyse de 270 cas montre que les actions de "maintenance de liberté" ont émergé comme une procédure judiciaire spécifique à partir de 1840. Ces procédures ont eu leurs contours dessinés par la pratique judiciaire, e leur construction est liée à un contexte plus général de "modernisation" institutionnelle et juridique.