The United States and the Contraband Slave Trade to Brazil, 1831–1856

Chapter 5 discusses the forms of U.S. participation in the transatlantic slave trade to Brazil during the illegal era. It shows how Portuguese and Brazilian slave traders employed multiple U.S. resources in the traffic and the political tensions generated by the multiple forms of U.S. participation in the slave trade.

Conclusion

The conclusion discusses the broader transformations in the forms of U.S. participation in the transatlantic slave trade, the main geopolitical and economic obstacles to its suppression, and the broader political consequences of this participation.

Slave Trading in the Slaveholding Republic, 1851–1858

Chapter 6 assesses the multiple forms of U.S. participation in the slave trade to Cuba. It shows how the abolition of the slave trade in Brazil led to a reconfiguration of slave trading networks and a stronger integration of U.S. resources in the traffic. It also discusses the transformation of New York into one of the main slave-trading ports of the Americas during the 1850s.

Crisis, 1859–1867

Chapter 7 looks at the political implications of U.S. involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. It shows how different parties dealt with the growing accusations of U.S. involvement in the traffic during the crisis of the 1850s and the impact of the U.S. Civil War on its suppression.

The Consolidation of the Contraband Slave Trade, 1820–1850

Chapter 4 discusses the national political configurations that allowed the emergence of a contraband slave trade in Cuba and Brazil and its suppression in the United States. It also looks at the broader geopolitical and economic contexts that allowed the transatlantic slave trade to survive.

Transitions, 1808–1820

Chapter 3 discusses the impact of the slave trade act of 1807 and the multiple forms of U.S. participation in the slave trade during the 1810s. It shows how some forms became predominant over that period while others nearly disappeared. It also explores some of the broader political implications of the persistence of the slave trade after 1808 and the Missouri Crisis.

Introduction

The introduction shows some of the main theoretical and historiographical approaches that are explored by the author. It also provides an outline of the main themes and sources discussed in the book.

North American Slave Traders in the Age of Revolution, 1776–1807

The chapter explores the creation of a U.S. branch of the transatlantic slave trade in the aftermath of U.S. independence. It looks at the central role played by Rhode Island merchants in this traffic, the tensions generated by the expansion of abolitionism in the region, and the broader political debates on the national level.