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- Title
“Naturals of This Republic:” Slave Law, Sovereignty, and the Legal Politics of Citizenship in the Río de la Plata Borderlands, 1845–1864.
- Authors
Younger, Joseph P.
- Abstract
In 1859, Cándido Xavier Azambuja appeared before officials in Salto, Uruguay demanding the return of an alleged fugitive slave, Pedro, pursuant to the terms of the 1851 Extradition Treaty between Brazil and Uruguay. According to Cándido's testimony, Pedro had fled from his brother Geronimo's estancia located near the Brazilian town of Bagé close to the Uruguayan border. Upon questioning, Cándido admitted that Pedro and Geronimo had been in the Estado Oriental briefly in 1851 in order to drive several herds of cattle back into Brazil, but argued that Pedro returned with his master and had never been to the Uruguayan Republic before or since. In response, Pedro argued that he was not a fugitive Brazilian slave, but rather a “natural of this republic.” Pedro claimed that he was born in Tacuarembó, Uruguay, and promptly produced the baptismal records to prove it. Pedro went on to note that his entire family consisted of free Uruguayans like himself. He then claimed that Cándido had repeatedly attempted “to make him a slave,” going so far as to remove him forcibly from his home and carry him across the border into Brazil. He requested protection from these continued threats to his and his family's basic rights under Uruguayan law.
- Subjects
URUGUAY; SLAVERY laws; SOVEREIGNTY; CITIZENSHIP; FUGITIVE slaves; LEGAL testimony; BIRTHPLACES
- Publication
Law & History Review, 2012, Vol 30, Issue 4, p1099
- ISSN
0738-2480
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1017/S0738248012000521