British Entanglement with Brazilian Slavery

Joseph Mulhern is a historian of nineteenth-century Anglo-Brazilian relations and an honorary fellow of Durham University's Department of History.

‘Há livros escritos para evitar espaços vazios na estante.’ — Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet (MG)This book reflects the vision of one of the greatest Brazilian poets of the twentieth century and deserves to be on the shelf and read. We emphasise the need to read the book to understand the complexity of slavery in Brazil and the actions of the British, both individuals and companies. Only in this way can the slave past begin to be reconsidered and not be erased from memory and history.’ — Carlos Gabriel Guimarães, Universidade Federal Fluminense.‘From indirect participation in the transatlantic slave trade to the direct exploitation of slave plantations, British capitalists were decisive actors in reproducing slavery in Brazil, while the British Empire presented itself on the global stage as the world champion of the fight against the institution. This pioneering and innovative book by Joseph Mulhern brilliantly illuminates the other side of the so-called Anti-Slavery Em-pire, examining the deep connections between Great Britain and the Brazilian slave system.’ — Rafael Marquese, Universidade de Sāo Paulo.‘The expansion of Brazilian slavery during the nineteenth century defied British aboli-tionism on the one hand, while being fuelled by British capital on the other. Joseph Mulhern’s British Entanglement with Brazilian Slavery ingeniously explores the invest-ments made by British subjects, companies and banks in the Brazilian slave system, provoking readers to consider the legacies of this accumulation and exploitation in our current time. A must-read.’ — Beatriz Mamigonian, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

• Tables / Figures / Images; Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1-‘Advocates and Supporters’: British Merchants and the Slave Trade to Brazil; 2-Lobbyists and Silent Beneficiaries: British Slaveholding in Nineteenth-Century Brazil; Part I: 1808–1850; Part II: 1850–1888; 3-Human Collateral: British Banking and Brazilian Slavery; 4-Obfuscating Entanglement: Free and Slave Labour on the London and Brazilian Bank’s Angélica Plantation, 1871–1881; Conclusion: Slavery and Anti-Slavery in Brazil’s British Century; Epilogue: Tracing the Legacies of British Entanglement with Brazilian Slavery; Appendix: British Slaveholding in Brazil Census (Simplified); Bibliography; Images; Index