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Race, Wars, and Citizenship: Free People of Color in the Spanish American Independence
- Journal of the History of Ideas
- University of Pennsylvania Press
- Volume 79, Number 1, January 2018
- pp. 143-156
- 10.1353/jhi.2018.0008
- Article
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Abstract:
The role played by free people of color in the Spanish American independence movements is at the center of this essay. Their ambiguous status makes them a privileged group to study when examining the negotiation and formation of racial identity as well as the definition of citizenship requirements in colonial and post-colonial contexts. Through an analysis of the contributions made by recent studies, this article proposes a historiographical survey of the transformation of racial and social hierarchies and of the shaping of new citizenship rights during the crisis of the Spanish Empire and the independence wars.