Research Catalog

Unraveling abolition : legal culture and slave emancipation in Colombia

Title

Unraveling abolition : legal culture and slave emancipation in Colombia / Edgardo Pérez Morales, University of Southern California.

Author

Pérez Morales, Edgardo

Publication

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2022.
©2022

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	Sc E 22-822	Schomburg Center - Research & Reference

Details

Description

xiv, 242 pages : maps; 24 cm.

Summary

"It is criminal selfishness to seek liberty and independence from Spain for ourselves, if we wish not to grant it to our slaves." With these stern words, the lawyer Félix José de Restrepo addressed his colleagues, the delegates to the first General Congress of the Republic of Colombia, in 1821. As the delegates worked out the new republic's constitution and foundational laws, Restrepo invited them to consider the problem of slavery: were slaves, like other humans, "children of Adam" and thus eligible for equal rights? Were "whites" entitled to dominate "blacks"? Was any government that upheld slavery a "criminal" government by definition? Should independence from Spain automatically lead to liberty for slaves? As the South American independence movement reached its climax, Restrepo forcefully developed clear-cut questions. But would they find clear and forceful answers, as many slaves and some free people hoped? In 1821 Restrepo defended freedom over slavery on behalf of humanity, religion, and the decorum of the nascent country. He introduced a manumission bill, ostensibly aiming to end coerced labor. It is indispensable to "annihilate slavery," he insisted. In Restrepo's view, the General Congress represented the ideal opportunity to restore enslaved individuals to their human "dignity" while giving neighboring countries an example of "justice." Ending slavery, moreover, would dignify the revolution against Spain, guaranteeing future economic and political stability for the new republic. Restrepo asserted that it remained a contradiction to pray to God for deliverance from foreign tyrants while keeping thousands of people in captivity. Providence, he predicted, would throw Colombia back into the hands of Spain "if we refuse to exercise mercy with our brothers"--
Unraveling Abolition tells the fascinating story of slaves, former slaves, magistrates and legal workers who fought for emancipation, without armed struggle, from 1781 to 1830. By centering the Colombian judicial forum as a crucible of antislavery, Edgardo Pérez Morales reveals how the meanings of slavery, freedom and political belonging were publicly contested. In the absence of freedom of the press or association, the politics of abolition were first formed during litigation. Through the life stories of enslaved litigants and defendants, Pérez Morales illuminates the rise of antislavery culture, and how this tradition of legal tinkering and struggle shaped claims to equal citizenship during the anti-Spanish revolutions of the early 1800s. By questioning foundational constitutions and laws, this book uncovers how legal activists were radically committed to the idea that independence from Spain would be incomplete without emancipation for all slaves.

Series Statement

Studies in legal history

Uniform Title

Studies in legal history.

Subject

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-231) and index.

Contents

Prologue: Antislavery, abolition, and the judicial forum -- 1. Raynal in the new kingdom? -- 2. Landscapes of slavery, rumors of freedom -- 3. Popayán: prudent legislation -- 4. Cartagena: equality and natural law -- 5. Antioquia: free womb, captive slaves -- 6. An exegesis of liberty -- Epilogue: the slaves before the law.

Call Number

Sc E 22-822

ISBN

9781108831529
1108831524
9781108926690
110892669X

LCCN

2021038608

OCLC

1260821102

Author

Pérez Morales, Edgardo, author.

Title

Unraveling abolition : legal culture and slave emancipation in Colombia / Edgardo Pérez Morales, University of Southern California.

Publisher

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Copyright Date

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Studies in legal history

Studies in legal history.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-231) and index.

Other Form:

Online version: Pérez Morales, Edgardo. Unraveling abolition Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2022 9781108917513 (DLC) 2021038609

Research Call Number

Sc E 22-822

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