Slavery, War, and Diplomacy in the Brazilian Southern Border, 1750–1852

Since the 17th Century, the Río de la Plata area was a focus of intense dispute between Portugal and Spain. During the following century, tensions rose, leading to wars and attempts to establish the boundaries in the region. In the 19th Century, the emerging independent states sought to establish their sovereignty expanding or consolidating territorial domains. Between 1810 and 1852, several wars related to the formation of national states involved Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.

Throughout this time, the problem of slavery walked hand in hand with the issue of territorial limits. The transit of runaway slaves along the borderlands was a key issue. In the colonial period, the strong legitimacy of slavery in both Iberian empires ensured a solid policy of returning criminals, deserters and runaway slaves, only broken during military conflicts. However, the Buenos Aires May Revolution of 1810 inaugurated a process that reshaped slavery in Río de la Plata. While the institution has suffered a progressive dismantling in the independent states of Hispanic America, in Brazil slavery entered its period of splendor. Indeed, the problem of runaways slaves in the Río de la Plata borderlands began to involve not only the economic interests of the Brazilian master class, but also issues of sovereignty of the national states.

This paper aims to analyze the issue of slavery during the wars between Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, since 1750 until 1852. Such an approach allows, in addition to evaluate the mutual impact of slavery and war, to illuminate the complex relations between slavery and the emerging national states after the process of Ibero-American independences. The sources used are diplomatic treaties, correspondences and judicial process related to cases of runaway slaves in the southern border of Brazil.