Landscapes of Freedom

Building a Postemancipation Society in the Rainforests of Western Colombia

Nonfiction, History, Americas, South America
Cover of the book Landscapes of Freedom by Claudia Leal, University of Arizona Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Claudia Leal ISBN: 9780816538386
Publisher: University of Arizona Press Publication: March 20, 2018
Imprint: University of Arizona Press Language: English
Author: Claudia Leal
ISBN: 9780816538386
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Publication: March 20, 2018
Imprint: University of Arizona Press
Language: English

After emancipation in 1851, the African descendants living in the extra-humid rainforests of the Pacific coast of Colombia attained levels of autonomy hardly equaled anywhere else in the Americas. This autonomy rested on their access to a diverse environment—including small strips of fertile soils, mines, forests, rivers, and wetlands—that contributed to their subsistence and allowed them to procure gold, platinum, rubber, and vegetable ivory for export.

Afro-Colombian slave labor had produced the largest share of gold in the colony of New Granada. After the abolishment of slavery, some free people left the mining areas and settled elsewhere along the coast, making this the largest area of Latin America in which black people predominate into the present day. However, this economy and society, which lived off the extraction of natural resources, was presided over by a very small white commercial elite living in the region’s ports, where they sought to create an urban environment that would shelter them from the jungle.

Landscapes of Freedom reconstructs a nonplantation postemancipation trajectory that sheds light on how environmental conditions and management influenced the experience of freedom. It also points at the problematic associations between autonomy and marginality that have shaped the history of Afro-America. By focusing on racialized landscapes, Leal offers a nuanced and important approach to understanding the history of Latin America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

After emancipation in 1851, the African descendants living in the extra-humid rainforests of the Pacific coast of Colombia attained levels of autonomy hardly equaled anywhere else in the Americas. This autonomy rested on their access to a diverse environment—including small strips of fertile soils, mines, forests, rivers, and wetlands—that contributed to their subsistence and allowed them to procure gold, platinum, rubber, and vegetable ivory for export.

Afro-Colombian slave labor had produced the largest share of gold in the colony of New Granada. After the abolishment of slavery, some free people left the mining areas and settled elsewhere along the coast, making this the largest area of Latin America in which black people predominate into the present day. However, this economy and society, which lived off the extraction of natural resources, was presided over by a very small white commercial elite living in the region’s ports, where they sought to create an urban environment that would shelter them from the jungle.

Landscapes of Freedom reconstructs a nonplantation postemancipation trajectory that sheds light on how environmental conditions and management influenced the experience of freedom. It also points at the problematic associations between autonomy and marginality that have shaped the history of Afro-America. By focusing on racialized landscapes, Leal offers a nuanced and important approach to understanding the history of Latin America.

More books from University of Arizona Press

Cover of the book Bisbee '17 by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology as Historical Process by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book A Legacy of Change by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Pueblo Indians and Spanish Colonial Authority in Eighteenth-Century New Mexico by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Becoming Brothertown by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Gardening in the Desert by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Homol'ovi by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Beyond Alterity by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Earth and Mars by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book History Is in the Land by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Ancient Paquimé and the Casas Grandes World by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book The Lives of Stone Tools by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Sustaining Wildlands by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book O'odham Creation and Related Events by Claudia Leal
Cover of the book Intrepid Explorer by Claudia Leal
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy