“To the North, the Heirs…”

This article examines the use, ownership, and transfer of land in an undivided legal context in Ribeira do Vaza-Barris, a district of São Cristóvão, the former capital of Sergipe d’El Rei, during the mid-19th century. Drawing on insights from the Social History of Property, it argues that property is shaped by social relationships among individuals and groups in various contexts. The study highlights how sugar mill ownership in the 19th century underwent a process of "realization," influenced by the strategies of families who owned these mills. These strategies created a complex dynamic of land use, acquisition, and transfer. Using probate records, parish land documents, public deeds, and legal proceedings, along with Social Network Analysis, the article visually maps the connections of neighborhood, kinship, and relationships among sugar mill owners. It finds that the acquisition and transfer of undivided land were closely tied to the cohesion within family units, which either prevented property fragmentation or allowed external individuals access to the land

Drainage basin · Land tenure · Land use · Mill · Probate · Property rights · Social capital · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · History of Colonial Brazil · Rural Development and Agriculture