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The article focuses on the history of indigenous soldiers of the Rio Doce Divisions in Minas Gerais during the Portuguese war against natives in Brazil between 1808 and 1850. The author examines individuals who served as cultural intermediaries between the Portuguese and native Brazilians, explores how militarization served as a means of mediation, and discusses how the discovery of gold impacted the conflict.

The article presents a case study of public records relating to the slave and freedmen populations in the parish of Santo Antônio, vila of São José do Rio das Mortes, Minas Gerais, Brazil for the period from 1750 to 1850. The data considers whether slaves were either Blacks or mestizos: mestizos being further denoted as either Pardos, Crioulos, or Cabras. The data analyzed included parish list censuses known as the Rol de Confessados taken in 1795 and 1831, notary records of manumissions called cartas de alforria, and baptismal church records.