Seamlessly entwining archival research and sociological debates, The Last Abolition is a lively and engaging historical narrative that uncovers the broad history of Brazilian anti-slavery activists and the trajectory of their work, from earnest beginnings to eventual abolition. In detailing their principles, alliances and conflicts, Angela Alonso offers a new interpretation of the Brazilian anti-slavery network which, combined, forged a national movement to challenge the entrenched pro-slavery status quo. While placing Brazil within the abolitionist political mobilization of the nineteenth century, the book explores the relationships between Brazilian and foreign abolitionists, demonstrating how ideas and strategies transcended borders. Available for the first time in an English language edition, with a new introduction, this award-winning volume is a major contribution to the scholarship on abolition and abolitionists.

'An instant classic in Portuguese, The Last Abolition is now available in English in all its depth and richness. With a lifetime of research, Alonso beautifully narrates the Brazilian antislavery movement from its moral to political and governmental stages. We who study the Anglo-American abolition crusades will never look at our own subjects quite the same again after understanding the intrepid Brazilians and the entrenched obstacles they faced in ending slavery where four million Africans had disembarked and the slave trade lasted longest. This is a powerful story of human organization and moral force.'

David W. Blight - Sterling Professor of History, Yale University and author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

'Alonso’s assessment of abolitionism as a social movement is the most theoretically rich analysis that I have encountered, situating the history of Brazilian antislavery as constitutive of major shifts in the Atlantic geopolitics of slavery. Her work is particularly insightful in fleshing out the cultural dynamics of political mobilization, showing a broad command of theatre, operas, novels, and poetry, and the interconnected political and cultural arenas of the nineteenth century.'

Celso Thomas Castilho - Vanderbilt University

‘Alonso’s rigorously researched study approaches Brazil’s abolitionism as a form of contentious politics embedded in a broader history of social movements … Alonso skillfully incorporates details and research from newspapers, letters, speeches, and parliamentary records (among many other sources) to give the reader a vivid experience.’

Christina Proenza-Coles Source: H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online