The Last Abolition
The Brazilian Antislavery Movement, 1868–1888

A new interpretation of Brazilian anti-slavery history, placing Brazil in the global network of nineteenth-century abolitionist activism.

Angela Alonso (Author)

9781108431477, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 October 2021

420 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 2.8 cm, 0.71 kg

'Alonso's rigorously researched study approaches Brazil's abolitionism as a form of contentious politics embedded in a broader history of social movements … Alonso skillfully incorporates details and research from newspapers, letters, speeches, and parliamentary records (among many other sources) to give the reader a vivid experience.' Christina Proenza-Coles, H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online

Seamlessly entwining archival research and sociological debates, The Last Abolition is a lively and engaging historical narrative that uncovers the broad history of Brazilian anti-slavery activists and the trajectory of their work, from earnest beginnings to eventual abolition. In detailing their principles, alliances and conflicts, Angela Alonso offers a new interpretation of the Brazilian anti-slavery network which, combined, forged a national movement to challenge the entrenched pro-slavery status quo. While placing Brazil within the abolitionist political mobilization of the nineteenth century, the book explores the relationships between Brazilian and foreign abolitionists, demonstrating how ideas and strategies transcended borders. Available for the first time in an English language edition, with a new introduction, this award-winning volume is a major contribution to the scholarship on abolition and abolitionists.

Introduction
1. Elite abolitionism
2. Pro-slavery rhetoric
3. The moral repertoire of abolitionism
4. The theatricalization of politics
5. Expansion
6. Results-based abolitionism
7. Votes: A movement/government alliance
8. Bullets: Movement and countermovement
9. The march to victory
10. Future of the preterite
11. Abolitionism as a social movement.

Subject Areas: Slavery & abolition of slavery [HBTS], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], History of the Americas [HBJK]