Chapter 5 studies the experiences of enslaved individuals and their families outside of the convent and textile mill. By focusing on the elite residence, I suggest that the enslaved are better understood as members of domestic communities that had differing claims to honor, autonomy and trust. The chapter highlights the experiences of a tri-generational slave family living in the household of an important political figure during the years before and after the 1612 conspiracy. It also draws important gender-based distinctions that partially explain the movements of runaway slaves from Puebla and the accompanying fears of slave rebellion. The second half of the chapter focuses on the Carmona Bran family to explain how enslaved families negotiated their bondage and freed individual members whenever possible. The final section of the chapter addresses the growth of Puebla's free-born community of African descent in relation to the local parish and racially-specific confraternities. I argue that the local parish was a far more effective avenue to freedom than manumission or flight. This is last point is examined in relation to the Pantoja Ibañez family and their legitimate children.