Blacks of the Land
Indian Slavery, Settler Society, and the Portuguese Colonial Enterprise in South America

The first English translation of the field-defining work in Brazilian studies ethnohistory by the late John M. Monteiro.

James Woodard (Edited and translated by), Barbara Weinstein (Edited and translated by), John M. Monteiro (Author)

9781107114678, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 October 2018

290 pages, 14 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 2.2 cm, 0.55 kg

'Specialists and students of slavery studies will certainly benefit from Monteiro's interdisciplinary approach and exhaustive analysis. Non-specialists interested in histories of colonial encounters and colonial labour systems will profit as well from this thorough edition.' Ana Moledo, Connections

Originally published in Portuguese in 1994 as Negros da Terra, this field-defining work by the late historian John M. Monteiro has been translated into English by Professors Barbara Weinstein and James Woodard. Monteiro's work established ethnohistory as a field in colonial Brazilian studies and made indigenous history a vital part of how scholars understand Brazil's colonial past. Drawing on over two dozen collections on both sides of the Atlantic, Monteiro rescued Indians from invisibility, documenting their role as both objects and actors in Brazil's colonial past and, most importantly, providing the first history of Indian slavery in Brazil. Monteiro demonstrates how Indian enslavement, not exploration or the search for mineral wealth, was the driving force behind expansion out of São Paulo and through the South American backcountry. This book makes a groundbreaking contribution not only to Latin American history, but to the history of indigenous slavery in the Americas generally.

Foreword
Blacks of the land: preface and acknowledgments
1. The transformation of indigenous São Paulo in the sixteenth century
2. Backcountry incursions and the expansion of the labour force
3. The granary of Brazil
4. The regime of personal service
5. Masters and Indians
6. The roots of rural poverty
7. The final years of Indian slavery
Afterword.

Subject Areas: History of the Americas [HBJK]