To expand studies of New World slavery and the transatlantic slave trade into a larger global context, Slavery and Politics: Brazil and Cuba, 1790-1850 explores the political development of the last two slave societies of the “Iberian Atlantic system” (13). Out of the University of São Paulo, Rafael Marquese, Tâmis Parron, and Márcia Berbel have formed this study of Cuba and Brazil as an exploration of societies with a common background and facing common anti-slavery obstacles. Examining the arguments surrounding slavery and the slave trade, Marquese, Parron, and Berbel highlight the enormous impact of the American Revolution, Saint-Domingue slave rebellion, collapse of the Iberian monarchies, and internationalization of British abolitionism. It was in response to these events that Brazil and Cuba developed a slave system very different from the system that had been in place for hundreds of years.
Chapter 1 has two main objectives. First, instead of directly comparing slavery in the Iberian colonies and English colonies, Marquese, Parron, and Berbel argue for the separation of the Iberian Atlantic and northern European Atlantic worlds into two different historical structures. Second, the authors contend that the crisis facing the colonial slave system in the early nineteenth century forced the system to adapt and transform into a new, “Second Slavery” (13). This chapter also discusses the importance of the Saint-Domingue slave revolution in the mindset of anxious Brazilian and Cuban slaveholders.
In Chapter 2, Marquese, Parron, and Berbel discuss the role of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade in the development of constitutions in the post-Napoleonic Iberian Atlantic. This chapter also highlights the arguments of pro- and anti-slavery politicians in the legislation of citizenship. While Cuban political elites restricted the rights of freedmen and other Afro-Cubans, Brazilian politicians defended the granting of citizenship to Afro-Brazilians and only restricted the rights of African foreigners.
Chapter 3 compares the economic rise of Spanish Cuba with the newly-independent Empire of Brazil between 1825 and 1837. Marquese, Parron, and Berbel highlight the impact of Great Britain’s abolitionism on the slave societies of Brazil and Cuba. It is in this chapter that the growing political and social differences between Cuba and Brazil make themselves clear. Though both had to contend with issues regarding slavery and the slave trade, the independence of Brazil allowed it to take a very different political path from the Spanish colony of Cuba. The Empire of Brazil was free to develop its own national interests but did not have the imperial backing that supported Cuba in its resistance to British abolitionism.
Chapter 4 argues that the expansion of slavery and the contraband slave trade to Cuba and Brazil between 1837 and 1850 led to deteriorating relations with Great Britain. The “mulatto escape hatch,” which allowed Brazilians with African ancestry to obtain power and status, and plans to develop alternatives to the slave trade were not enough to keep abolitionist Britain from forming a coalition to crack down hard on Brazilian slavers (219). Meanwhile, the spectre of possible annexation to the United States provided leverage for Cuban slaveholding elites to seize political and economic benefits from the decaying Spanish Empire.
One of the most striking features of this work is its strict and meticulous organization. The timelines of Cuban and Brazilian politics are kept closely parallel and well-ordered. In countless incidents, objectives and arguments are numbered and supported with evidence in strict order: the authors provide an overall argument based on four main points, the Atlantic system is explored through four aspects, and the Empire of Brazil faced six international anti-slavery events in the late 1830’s. Though not the most exciting way to format a monograph, this strict order ensures that the reader will stay on track.
Marquese, Parron, and Berbel wisely include a historiography of studies of slavery in the Atlantic world. From Eric Williams to Frank Tannenbaum to David Brion Davis, the included historiographical references reveal the strong foundation on which this work stands. A strong aspect of Slavery and Politics is the depth and extensiveness of its research. This work could have effectively shown the political battles surrounding slavery and the slave trade in Brazil and Cuba using only the legislation that was passed and the treaties that were signed. Marquese, Parron, and Berbel instead chose to push deeper, revealing much of the anxiety, extremism, and the efforts of Cuban and Brazilian politicians that took place behind the scenes. Personal correspondence is used to show the reader the mindset of many of these important historical actors. Using political pamphlets, newspaper editorials, and speeches, the authors of this work are also able to show the reader the larger cultural context in which these laws were passed.
Though perhaps not the most exciting or groundbreaking work ever created, Slavery and Politics is an important and necessary study of the common background and obstacles of early nineteenth-century Cuba and Brazil. Standing upon a strong foundation of earlier works on the Atlantic system, Marquese, Parron, and Berbel push the field a bit further with their research into the role of slavery in the politics of the Iberian Atlantic. This work provides a strong indication of the direction the field is moving: globalization rather than isolation.
