Landscapes of Freedom: Building a Postemancipation Society in the Rainforests of Western Colombia (Latin American Landscapes)

2019 Winner, Colombia Section, Michael Jiménez Prize, Latin American Studies Association After emancipation in 1851, the African descendants living in the extra-humid rainforests of the Pacific coast of Colombia attained levels of autonomy hardly equaled anywhere else in the Americas. This autonomy rested on their access to a diverse environment—including small strips of fertile soils, mines, forests, rivers, and wetlands—that contributed to their subsistence and allowed them to procure gold, platinum, rubber, and vegetable ivory for export. Afro-Colombian slave labor had produced the largest share of gold in the colony of New Granada. After the abolishment of slavery, some free people left the mining areas and settled elsewhere along the coast, making this the largest area of Latin America in which black people predominate into the present day. However, this economy and society, which lived off the extraction of natural resources, was presided over by a very small white commercial elite living in the region's ports, where they sought to create an urban environment that would shelter them from the jungle. Landscapes of Freedom reconstructs a nonplantation postemancipation trajectory that sheds light on how environmental conditions and management influenced the experience of freedom. It also points at the problematic associations between autonomy and marginality that have shaped the history of Afro-America. By focusing on racialized landscapes, Leal offers a nuanced and important approach to understanding the history of Latin America. Looking At The Interaction Of Race And Terrain During A Critical Period In Latin American History -- Voyages Into The Rainforest : An Introduction In Three Acts -- Part I. An Extractive Economy -- 1. Slave Mining And Emancipation -- 2. Freedom And The Persistence Of Extraction -- 3. Traders In Natural Commodities -- 4. The Politics Of Natural Resource Access -- Part Ii. Racialized Landscapes -- 5. Blackness, Forests, And Nation -- 6. Urban Dreams And Nightmares -- Conclusion : A People And An Environment With History. Claudia Leal. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 305-328) And Index. Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 12 Voyages into the Rainforest: An Introduction in Three Acts 18 PART I: AN EXTRACTIVE ECONOMY 40 1. Slave Mining and Emancipation 42 2. Freedom and the Persistence of Extraction 76 3. Traders in Natural Commodities 104 4. The Politics of Natural Resource Access 128 PART II: RACIALIZED LANDSCAPES 168 5. Blackness, Forests, and Nation 170 6. Urban Dreams and Nightmares 200 Conclusion: A People and an Environment with History 239 Notes 248 Bibliography 320 Index 344 Looking at the interaction of race and terrain during a critical period in Latin American history-- Provided by publisher