Colonial Slavery

An Abridged Translation

Jacob Gorender author Alejandro Reyes translator Bernd Reiter editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:1st Mar '22

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

This hardback is available in another edition too:

Colonial Slavery cover

Jacob Gorender's (1923–2013) 1978 book, Colonial Slavery (O Escravismo Colonial), comes alive for English language readers thanks to Bernd Reiter and Alejandro Reyes's brilliant translation.

Gorender argued that slave-holding societies produced an economic system sui generis, not fitting into any of the established societal categories offered by Karl Marx and Max Weber. As such, Gorender proposed a theory of colonial slavery as the structuring force of slave-holding societies. For him, slave-holding societies are different from other societies in that slavery structured them differently. This is of the utmost relevance to this day as it allows for a new and different way to explain contemporary racial inequalities in post-slavery societies. An accomplished interpreter of Brazilian social formation, Gorender was motivated by the need to understand the historical roots of class domination and the emergence of Brazilian capitalist society. His presentation of rich historical data, rigorous theoretical and analytical framework, and militant action as an active member of the Brazilian Communist Party are the hallmarks of his writing.

Colonial Slavery: An Abridged Translation is a must-read for researchers, teachers, and students of history, sociology, economics, politics, as well as activists of the Black movement and other movements committed to anti-racism.

"This is a classic of Latin American Marxist thought. Originally published in 1978, the book uses the concept of mode of production and the conceptual instruments developed in Das Kapital to understand the organization of slave labor in Brazil and to seek 'laws' that explain in a more abstract way the structure and social reproduction in slavery societies of colonial America. It is perhaps the most emblematic book of Brazilian Marxism in the 1980s. An essential reading for anyone interested in the history of ideas and of Marxism in Latin America, O Escravismo Colonial continues to be revisited by Marxist authors today."

Antonio Sergio Guimarães, Professor of Sociology, Universidade de São Paulo

"With this work Gorender affirms the original character of Portuguese colonialism in Brazil. The author demonstrates that slavery was the structuring mode of production in Brazil, resulting in the kind of social relations that make the country what it is today. A required reading for all those who seek to understand racial inequalities in Brazil and the slaveholding Americas."

Fernando Conceição, Professor of Communication, Federal University of Bahia

ISBN: 9780367434250

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 680g

268 pages