The Last Abolition The Brazilian Antislavery Movement, 1868–1888 Afro-Latin America Series

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.

Angela Alonso is a Professor of Sociology at the University of São Paulo, Brazil and former Director of the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP). The Last Abolition is a translation of Flores, Votos e Balas; o movimento abolicionista brasileiro, 1868–1888 (2015).