Since I am researching on the legal (moral) discourse [if such a thing existed] of the 17th century Portuguese Hakhamim of Ess Hayyim, on the African slave trade, I would like to share this excerpt: The substance of this law is that we use Canaanite servants (slaves), and that we do not grant them freedom, unless his master damages one of his/her teeth, eye, or another similar body part, then he is obligated to set him free, as the Law stipulates. And if the master should marry his Canaanite servant (slave) with any daughter of Israel, or put tefillin on his head, or ask him to read three verses from the Scroll of the Torah before the congregation, or other things such as these, which are not obligated of him, except those who are free; such a servant (slave) will be freed, and it will be obligated upon his master that he write him a writ of manumission. One should be very careful not to do any of these things, so that one not annul this precept… (Abraham Farar, Declaração das 613 Encomendanças; positive precept #235).Notice how this indirectly excludes the female slave (servant). Perhaps this will explain why so many of the Nação had children with their African slaves and then converted them. Upon doing so, a yehid was demoted from his status to simply a congregante. On the other hand, it is practically unheard of for African male slaves to be manumitted in Suriname. This is how the Suriname community became creolized :)Qué vivan los congregantes!