Black colors of slavery not to be seen: Race, class and nation on Miguel Calmon's journey to Asian plantations (1905)

Abstract

At first, the article focuses on three visitations by Miguel Calmon to Dutch tobacco plantations in Sumatra. I connect the analysis of his travel report with the study of the landlords' ideology of postabolition Bahia highlighting their perceptions on the workers' agency. I also point out the landlords' strategies for organizing free labor, focusing on rent and enjoyment of manpower. Following, the article demonstrates how, under Miguel Calmon's leadership after his return to Brazil, contacting natives represented unveiling national workers. In addition to stressing the importance of mobility for natives in dealing with the strategies of their alleged protection, I argue that mobility was also a weapon of struggle for the working class. I thus intend to contribute to broaden researches on the worlds of labor, addressing global but also Brazilian connections.