Neither Slave nor Free: The Emancipados of Brazil, 1818-1868
A N INCREASING FLOW Of new books and articles is providing convincing evidence that Latin American slave systems were not nearly as benign as they were once believed to have been.' It has been shown, for example, that the protection which religion and government are said to have granted slaves was often more nominal than real, and that laws promulgated to safeguard slaves or free blacks were often evaded or allowed to slip into disuse. Moreover, it is becoming more apparent that, despite comparatively harmonious relations between blacks and whites in Latin America, racial, cultural, and class prejudices and attitudes have been significantly detrimental to black people, both during and after slavery; that while slavery lasted, dark skin helped to strengthen and tacitly to justify tlhe institution in Latin American countries; and that after slavery ended discrimination directed against ex-slaves and their descendants worked to impede their progress and to deny them the full benefits of citizenship and freedom.2