In the Blood of Our Brothers: Abolitionism and the End of the Slave Trade in Spain’s Atlantic Empire

Jesús Sanjurjo will discuss his new book, In the Blood of Our Brothers: Abolitionism and the End of the Slave Trade in Spain’s Atlantic Empire, 1800–1870. Throughout the nineteenth century, very few people in Spain campaigned to stop the slave trade and did even less to abolish slavery. Even when some supported abolition, the reasons that moved them were not always humanitarian, liberal, or egalitarian. How abolitionist ideas were received, shaped, and transformed during this period has been ripe for study. 

By privileging the central role that British activists and diplomats played in advancing the abolitionist cause in Spain, the book shows the complex and uneven development of abolitionist and antiabolitionist discourses in Spain’s public life, from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the end of the transatlantic trade. It argues that the ideological and political tension between Spanish liberalism and imperialism helps explain the failure of anti–slave trade initiatives from 1811 to the 1860s. Slave trade was tied to the notion of inviolable property rights, and slavery persisted and peaked following three successful liberal revolutions in Spain.

Dr Gregorio Alonso (University of Leeds) will comment. 

 

All welcome – This event is free, but booking is required.

Details on how to join this session will be sent to all registered attendees 24 hours in advance.  Booking will therefore close the day before the scheduled date.

UCL Institute of the Americas is delighted to collaborate with the Institute of Historical Research (University of London) and other leading institutions in the organisation of this series