Zachary R. Morgan - Legacy of the Lash: Race and Corporal Punishment in the Brazilian Navy and the Atlantic World

BLACKS IN THE DIASPORA

RACE AND CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
IN THE BRAZILIAN NAVY AND THE
ATLANTIC WORLD

ZACHARY R. MORGAN

INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS

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Herman B Wells Library 350

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Bloomington, IN 47405 USA

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2014 by Zachary R. Morgan

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48 1992.

Cataloging information is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-0-253-01420-7 (cloth)

ISBN 978-0-253-01429-0 (ebook)

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Table 3.1 Race of Sailors Tried for Crimes in
Rio de Janeiro, 186093

Table 3.2 Accused Crimes of Sailors Tried by
Military Courts in Rio de Janeiro

Table 3.4 Race of Marines Tried in Rio for
Crimes, 186093

Table 3.7 Effective Population of the Corpo de
Marinha Nacionais, 18921910

THIS PROJECT HAS COME TOGETHER OVER MANY YEARS DURING which I have accumulated countless debts. I can only begin to thank the many friends, family members, and scholars whose inspiration, example, feedback, revisions, and support helped to make this book a reality. The credit for any success achieved herein needs to be shared widely; for its shortcomings, I beg forgiveness for not better heeding advice so generously proffered.

This project developed during a research trip to Rio de Janeiro. I arrived in Brazil with a broadly conceived project on Afro-Brazilian social mobility in the army and a consultant at the Archivo Nacional promptly introduced me to Peter Beattie, who had just concluded his outstanding work since published as The Tribute of Blood, on a subject similar enough to drive me screaming from the field. Peter took me to lunch and after a conversation over my interest in an institutional history of the military, he suggested the collections at the Archivo Naval on Ilha das Cobras where he had recently spent a few days conducting research. After several weeks examining their collections, Legacy of the Lash began to take a vague shape; for this and for Peters support and friendship, I remain eternally grateful.

The research and writing of this book was supported by the Ford Foundation Fellowship, the Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellowship, the David L. Boren/National Security Educational Program, the Brazil Fund, and a Nabrit Dissertation Fellowship from Brown University. More recently, a fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and Faculty Research Grants from Boston College supported additional research in England and Brazil.

R. Douglas Cope, Anani Dzidzienyo, and Thomas E. Skidmore at Brown University were both supportive and critical, as the situation required. I remain deeply indebted to Thomas E. Skidmore. His encyclopedic knowledge of Brazilian history coupled with his open support for research projects far beyond his own areas and topics of historical production made him a natural mentor to students working in all regions and areas of Latin American history. Beyond that, he far exceeded the responsibilities of an advisor as he opened his home and his incomparable personal archive. He served as both mentor and friend, and he and his wife Felicity truly made me feel like family during my time in Rhode Island. This book also owes a great deal to the late Dean Bernard Bruce, who brought together a remarkable group of minority graduate students and gave us the means, the steadfast support, and the love that we needed to succeed. I know few other people who could have single-handedly succeeded in building such a nurturing community. Thanks and love to Rima Dasgupta, Gelonia Dent, Maria Elena Garcia, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Stefan Wheelock, and all the other members of that group.

It has been my great honor and privilege to work with a gifted group of friends and colleagues who helped guide me through the process of research and writing. My heartfelt thanks for feedback and conversations go to the small group of scholars who are currently researching and publishing on various aspects of the Revolta da Chibata. For their help and camaraderie during my time in Rios archives, as well as during conferences, panels, and papers in the U.S. and Brazil, I thank Slvia Capanema P. de Almeida, Joseph L. Love, lvaro Pereira do Nascimento, Jos Miguel Arias Neto, and Mrio Maestri. In addition to those named above, over the years Sascha Auerback, Kim Butler, Amy Chazkel, Jerry Dvila, Marcela Echeverri, Ari Kelman, Deborah Levinson-Estrada, Frank McCann, Patrick McDevitt, Robert Reid-Pharr, Martin Summers Ben Vinson III, and James Woodard, read portions of the manuscript and generously shared their expertise. Along the way I also received invaluable support from many scholars. Without my undergraduate advisors at Hunter College, J. Michael Turner and Myna Bain, I suspect I would never have begun the process of becoming a historian. My deepest thanks also go to Lewis Gordon who, while I was finishing my research at Brown, offered office space, support, friendship, comments, a support staff, professional advice, and his personal network. While researching in and around Rio de Janeiro, I benefitted from advice and feedback from George Reid Andrews, Sue Ann Caufield, Todd Diacon, the late Jurgen Heye, Thomas H. Holloway, Mary Karasch, Hendrik Kraay, Jorge da Silva, Luiz Valente, Barbara Weinstein, and Erica Windler. My research on Britain and specifically on Newcastle benefitted from generous conversations with Joan Allen, John Charlton, Mary Conley, Sean Creighton, Dick Keys, and Bill Lancaster. To my friend Dona Norma Fraga de Souza, thank you for opening your home to me.

In Brazil, archivist Stiro Ferreira Nunes and the staff at the Arquivo Nacional in Rio de Janeiro gave immeasurable assistance, suggesting collections, documents, and nearby restaurants. Many thanks also go to the staff and archivists at the Arquivo Naval and the Bibioteca da Marinha on Ilha das Cobras for their help and support, as well as to the staffs of the Biblioteca Nacional, the Arquivo do Instituto Historico e Geogrfico Brasileiro, the Casa Rui Barbosa, and the Museu da Imagem e do Som.

Conducting research in England, I became deeply indebted to the staffs of the British Newspaper Library in London, the Vickers Archives held at the Cambridge University Library, the Northumbria University Library, and the University of Newcastle Library. Ian Whitehead, a maritime historian at the Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums in Newcastle, took a personal interest in my research and was particularly helpful in putting me in touch with local historians and tracking down obscure sources and images. Though images of the scale models of Newcastle-built ships didnt make it into the book, I am particularly grateful to Ian for the memorable, if dirty, tour of the nether regions of storage for a private viewing of the model of the cruiser