Slavery and War in the Americas: Race, Citizenship, and State Building in the United States and Brazil, 1861-1870

Acknowledgments

ix Acknowledgments This work has been a long time in the making. It resulted from years of research and certain of my obsessions. In the beginning, grave illness was an unexpected complication. Thanks to many people and many academic, research, and medical institutions, I was able to overcome initial obstacles , stay patient, maintain focus, and conduct research in two countries, while simultaneously writing in English. Many years have passed since that first New England winter. Some friends took different paths; others have passed away. Trajectories have changed, and people have moved on with their lives. To honor them all would require writing another book, a memoir. Perhaps that is in the future. Here, credit is given to those more consistently involved, although debts incurred are also well known. My interest in comparative history and military issues dates back to early contacts with maps and the way countries were drawn across continents . Later, when I started serious research on the Rio de La Plata Wars and the nation-building push across South America, I was lucky to have Hendrik Kraay and Peter Beattie as friends and academic interlocutors, eventually publishing with both of them. Peter, who identified himself as an outside reviewer, deserves my sincere gratitude for comments and suggestions that materially improved the quality of this book. Later on, Todd Diacom, Dain Borges, Seth Garfield, Bryan McCann, Marshall Eakin, and Matthew Barton discussed my ideas in several graduate seminars. Their invitations permitted me to visit a number of U.S. universities and broaden my research. x Acknowledgments This investigation began in the Graduate Program at the University of New Hampshire. There I developed an interest in U.S. history and the ways in which American exceptionalism could be contested. As a foreign researcher in a domestic field I was welcomed, and my early inquiries were well received and benefitted from generous observations and discussions . With his prodigious knowledge of the Brazilian military and keen memory, Frank D. McCann was a valuable resource and a good friend. J. William Harris was fundamental in keeping this work going on. An attentive reader, he gave me many helpful hints about American history, U.S. Southern history, and the history of slavery. W. Jeffrey Bolster, Lucy Salyer, Douglas Wheeler, and Stephen Reyna all made helpful comments during the early phase of this research. Later on, conversations with Thomas Bender, Anthony Pereira, Don Doyle, and the late Charles Tilly refined my arguments, reinforced my determination, and kept me acquainted with new lines of inquiry. During the project’s early stages, my parents and sisters believed in it and encouraged me to continue despite illness and adversity. I deeply regret that my sister Denise did not live to see the book completed. Her early departure from this life gave me an inordinate sense of urgency that kept me pushing ahead. At the University of Maryland’s Freedmen’s and Southern Society Project , Steven Miller and Leslie Rowland guided me through the records of the National Archives. While in Maryland, I also benefitted from the generosity of Phyllis Held, who made me feel at home while snowstorms closed the Archives and most of the Washington, D.C., area. Support from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) of the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) of the Brazilian Ministry of Education made it possible to live and work in the United States. I am proud of the confidence in me shown by these two pivotal Brazilian development agencies. I am also grateful to the staff of the following Brazilian libraries and archives for help researching this material: Arquivo Nacional, Arquivo Histórico do Museu Imperial, Arquivo Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Arquivo Público do Estado do Pará, Arquivo Público Mineiro, Biblioteca Nacional, Museu Histórico Nacional, Museu Casa de Benjamin Constant, Arquivo Histórico do Rio Grande do Sul, and Arquivo Público do Rio Grande do Sul. The Programa de Pós Graduação em História Social of Universidade Fe- xi Acknowledgments deral do Rio de Janeiro has been my working place for a decade now. Its support during the final stages of writing was particularly welcomed. I am especially grateful to Manolo Florentino, Maria Beatriz de Mello e Souza, and Monica Grin, among many other colleagues, as well as...