This 2007 book is an introductory history of racial slavery in the Americas. Brazil and Cuba were among the first colonial societies to establish slavery in the early sixteenth century. Approximately a century later British colonial Virginia was founded, and slavery became an integral part of local culture and society. In all three nations, slavery spread to nearly every region, and in many areas it was the principal labor system utilized by rural and urban elites. Yet long after it had been abolished elsewhere in the Americas, slavery stubbornly persisted in the three nations. It took a destructive Civil War in the United States to bring an end to racial slavery in the southern states in 1865. In 1866 slavery was officially ended in Cuba, and in 1888 Brazil finally abolished this dreadful institution, and legalized slavery in the Americas came to an end.

This 2007 book is an introductory history of racial slavery in the Americas.

About the Author
Laird W. Bergad was born and raised in Pittsburgh. He attended the University of Wisconsin, where he received his B.A. in history in 1970. He then lived and worked in various jobs in Puerto Rico before enrolling in graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh, where he received his Ph.D. degree in Latin American and Caribbean history in 1980. He has traveled widely through Latin America and has lived for extended periods in Cuba and Brazil. He has written and published four previous books about rural slave-based societies during the 18th and 19th centuries in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Brazil: Coffee and the Growth of Agarian Capitalism in Puerto Rico (1983), Cuban Rural Society in the 19th Century (1990), The Cuban Slave Market, 1790-1880 (coauthored) (Cambridge University Press, 1995); Slavery and the Demographic and Economic History of Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1720-1888 (Cambridge University Press, 1999). He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two Fulbright Fellowships, and an NEH Fellowship, among other grants and honors. He is the founding director of the City University of New York's Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies.

Reviews
"...Bergad's stated purpose is to integrate new interdisciplinary knowledge about three major slave societies-Cuba, Brazil, and the United States (why not Puerto Rico?)-in a digestible form for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and the general public....provide a clear view of profitability and technology of slavery....In textbook format, Bergad provides an effective overview of colonization and the rise of slavery as the primary system of production for each of his areas of study-North America (United States), Cuba, and Brazil, with some discussion of other parts of the Americas....The presentation of data regarding production, prices, investments, and demography...makes for an admirable introduction to the economics of slavery...." --Paul E. Lovejoy, York University, Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"...should be required reading in any course on nineteenth century U.S. or Latin American History." -David Eltis, EH.NET
"...a welcome addition to textbooks on slavery in the Americas." -Jacob M. Blosser, World History Bulletin
"For those accustomed to the study of the 'birth of African American culture' solely from the perspective of the Anglo-Dutch Atlantic, this book has much to offer." -Jorge Canizares-Esguerra, Journal of American Ethnic History



Book Information
ISBN 9780521694100
Author Laird Bergad
Format Paperback
Page Count 342
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 500g
Dimensions(mm) 226mm * 152mm * 20mm