Black and Indigenous Histories of Postcolonial Brazil: The Bahia-Espírito Santo Borderlands in the Nineteenth Century

This paper approaches postcolonial Brazil through the interrelated histories of its black and indigenous people from the mid- to late- nineteenth century. It explores the colonization of indigenous territory that was enabled by the expansion of slavery in the borderlands of Bahia and Espírito Santo. By examining specific cases of indigenous and black rebellions against settlers, slaveholders, and sometimes each other, it illuminates how these populations shaped the contours of nation-building and questions of citizenship, labor, and race.