The Political Thought of Joaquim Nabuco and the Abolition of Slavery in Brazil

• In Event: Latin American Political Thought in the 1800s: Ideas, Identity, and Institutions

Abstract

The abolitionist movements throughout the Atlantic had the moral objective of abolishing slavery. However, do they all have the same political consequences and purpose? Do the political objectives of the Abolitionist Movement differ from country to country? This paper will answer these questions by investigating the political thought of Joaquim Nabuco (1849–1910). For Nabuco, the abolition in Brazil was not, like in the British colonies, “a movement of generosity in favor of a class of people who are victims of an unjust oppression at a great distance from their shore.” Nor is it like in the United States, where the Black race was perceived as a race outside the community and isolated from it. In the Brazilian case, the “black race is an element of great national importance […], an integral part of the Brazilian nation” (Nabuco1977, 19–20). The political goal of the Brazilian Abolitionist Movement was not merely to liberate an oppressed minority from distant colonies or rectify an imperfection of the Founding but rather the liberation of the Brazilian people from oppression. “The black race gave us a people,” who built, cultivated, and civilized the territory (Nabuco 1977, 20). The Africans and their descendants have mixed with other races and established countess organic relationships outside slavery. By abolishing slavery, Brazil would incorporate the bulk of its population into body politics and eliminate the immense gap separating the people from the landowner oligarchy (Nabuco 1977, 15). By investigating Nabuco’s thought, this article seeks to contribute to the growing literature on comparative political theory and explore how similar political ideas, such as abolitionism, driven by a similar higher moral purpose, can have distinct political consequences based on concrete historical circumstances.

Author

• Eduardo Schmidt Passos, Arizona State University