Blacks of the Land
Indian Slavery, Settler Society, and the Portuguese Colonial Enterprise in South America

Originally published in Portuguese in 1994 as Negros da Terra, this field-defining work by the late historian John M. Monteiro has been translated into English by Professors Barbara Weinstein and James Woodard. Monteiro's work established ethnohistory as a field in colonial Brazilian studies and made indigenous history a vital part of how scholars understand Brazil's colonial past. Drawing on over two dozen collections on both sides of the Atlantic, Monteiro rescued Indians from invisibility, documenting their role as both objects and actors in Brazil's colonial past and, most importantly, providing the first history of Indian slavery in Brazil. Monteiro demonstrates how Indian enslavement, not exploration or the search for mineral wealth, was the driving force behind expansion out of São Paulo and through the South American backcountry. This book makes a groundbreaking contribution not only to Latin American history, but to the history of indigenous slavery in the Americas generally.

Reviews & endorsements

'Woodard and Weinstein deserve much praise for their work on this important edition and translation of Monteiro's book. It will bring his interdisciplinary methods and comparative perspective on slavery to an even wider readership of historians, anthropologists, and their students. Perhaps most importantly, it will reaffirm the historical roles played by indigenous peoples in the construction of colonial societies across the Americas.' Heather F. Roller, The American Historical Review

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Product details

• Date Published: December 2018
• format: Paperback
• isbn: 9781107535183
• length: 290 pages

• dimensions: 228 x 153 x 18 mm
• weight: 0.43kg
• contains: 14 tables
• availability: Available