Civil Society and Paths to Abolition

In: Journal of global slavery, Volume 1, Issue 1, p. 44-71

Abstract

This article explores aspects of the abolitionist movements in comparative imperial and national perspective. Contrasting the transoceanic roads to emancipation in the pioneering British and French empires, it then examines subsequent cases in Russia, the United States of America and Brazil. It attempts to assess the relative impact of civil and/or military mobilizations—or their absence—in relation to the public sphere and legislative actors. It speculates on the impact of different forms and outcomes on the legacies of abolitions.