This is a study of Pernambuco's socio-political history between 1821 and 1835. It starts with an analysis of the process of independence in Pernambuco, leading to a division of the elites in 1824. Thereafter two factions of the local elites would strive for control of the state apparatus during the reign of Pedro I. From 1827 to 1831 a series of parallel hierarchies were created in order to organize the administration of justice and the local police. In those cases where two or more landlords had roughly equal economic power, to control a post in the state hierarchies made a critical difference. Nevertheless, the fact that the justice of the peace, the militia, the Corpos de Ordenancas, and the National Guard had similar or overlapping prerogatives led to conflicts of jurisdiction and greater politicization of the landed elites. The work does not posit a sharp dichotomy between slaves and non-slaves; instead it agrees the free population was highly differentiated. After independence in 1822 it was increasingly difficult for slaves to escape bondage and they attempted to improve their living conditions within slavery through occupational mobility. Sometimes, they could even change owners, through collaborating with those who wished to steal them from their masters. Cooperation between slaves and the free poor was essential both in maroonage and the other forms of slave resistence to their condition. This dissertation also studies the urban uprisings in the period, and the participation of slaves, the free black and the mulatto population in those events. The two factions of the elites needed the help of the free poor whenever they attempted to overthrow their opponents at local and provincial levels. But the free poor had their own interpretation of the events and often used the opportunity for looting. In this dissertation clientelism is considered an important bond, although it was not enough to eliminate incipient class struggles. Finally, the last chapter studies the Cabanada, Brazil's first peasant rebellion, in which slaves, Indians, and peasants fought for the right to use the land against the continual encroachments of the large estates. U of I Only ETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permission