Almanack número14

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Almanack. Guarulhos, n.14, p.308- 313 resenhas

W HEAT, David. At lant ic Af rica and t he Spanish Caribbean, 1 5 7 0 - 1 6 4 0 .

Chapel Hill: Published f or t he Omohundro Inst it ut e of Early American

Hist ory and Cult ure, W illiamsburg, VA, by t he Universit y of Nort h

Carolina Press, 2 0 1 6 .

DOI:ht t p://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2236- 463320161414

Tessa M urphy Syracuse Universit y, Nova York NY, Est ados Unidos da América t emurphy@ maxw ell.syr.edu

New Geographies of t he At lant ic W orld:

Connect ing Lusophone Af rica and Spanish America

Recent st udies of colonial and early nat ional Brazil emphasize t hat t he

t ransat lant ic slave t rade f orged not only economic but also cult ural and polit ical

connect ions across t he Sout h At lant ic. As hist orians including Walt er Haw t horne,

Roquinaldo Ferreira, M ariana Candido, Paul Lovejoy, and James Sw eet highlight how

regular and sust ained exchanges bet w een West Af rica and Brazil shaped societ ies on bot h

sides of t he ocean, t hey also of f er new geographies f or underst anding t he Lusophone

At lant ic. In his new book, David Wheat engages w it h models of reciprocal exchange and

int er- colonial connect ion in order t o redraw t he boundaries of t he At lant ic World in an

earlier period. Analyzing early modern Iberia, Af rica, and Lat in America as

aspect s of a single, unif ied (73), Wheat t races how development s in one area

reverberat ed in t he ot hers. Doing so allow s him t o persuasively argue t hat t he sixt eent h-

and sevent eent h- cent ury Spanish Caribbean should be view ed not as a precursor t o t he

sugar colonies t hat lat er came t o dominat e much of t he region, but as a nat ural ext ension

of economic, social, and polit ical precedent s est ablished in West Af rica and t he

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In addit ion t o avoiding a t eleological analysis of t he rise of t he plant at ion complex,

- researched book cont ribut es t o a grow ing body of w ork

aimed at reconcept ualizing t he At lant ic World and t he roles of Af rican people w it hin it .

Enslaved Af ricans and t heir descendant s const it ut ed a demographic majorit y not just in

export - orient ed plant at ion economies, but in set t lement s t hat relied on mixed agricult ure.

In slave societ ies of t his nat ure, w hich w ere f irst est ablished by t he Port uguese in At lant ic

islands such as São Tomé and lat er replicat ed by Spanish colonizers in t he Caribbean,

Af rican people perf ormed many of t he same f unct ions as peasant s in cont emporaneous

Iberia. Wheat show s how diverse labors as w ell as t heir very presence

st rengt hened Spanish expansion in t he Americas.

- and ninet eent h- cent ury Brazil, t hese men and w omen also drew

on t heir experiences in t he broader At lant ic World in order t o shape t he f oundat ions of

new American societ ies in w ays t hat hist orians are only beginning t o appreciat e. Draw ing

on archival mat erials housed in Colombia, Cuba, Spain, and Port ugal, Wheat w eaves

t oget her t he hist ories and hist oriographies of Lat in America, Iberia, and West Cent ral

Af rica in order t o emphasize a shared past t hat present - day boundaries t end t o obscure.

The result ant w ork highlight s t he possibilit ies of ext ending models of an int erconnect ed

At lant ic World backw ards in t ime and across perceived polit ical and geographic borders.

The f irst half book is f irmly grounded in t he hist ory and hist oriography

of West Africa. Responding t o crit iques chapt er

one highlight s cont inuit ies in Af rican polit ical and cult ural ident it ies f rom t he t hirt eent h

t hrough t he sevent eent h cent ury and beyond. As Wheat surveys key t errit orial, ideological,

and polit ical cont est s bet w een a host of African st at es in t he Upper Guinea and

Senegambia regions, he demonst rat es how t hese conf lict s gave rise t o slave raiding, w hich

in t urn provided capt ives f or export . At t ent ion t o t he t ierra or et hnonyms of t hese capt ives

w hich Spanish of f icials caref ully recorded in sixt eent h- cent ury slave ship rost ers

allow s Wheat t o reconst ruct t he geographic and cult ural origins of t he enslaved. The f act

t hat t hese et hnonyms w ere recognized and ret ained specif ic meanings f or bot h Af ricans

and Iberians in t he early colonial Americas is import ant . In cont rast t o t he plant at ion era,

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mass of people, in t he early colonial period social and polit ical ident it ies f orged in Af rica

cont inued t o resonat e in t he diaspora. In his w ide- ranging analysis of how event s on t he

cont inent af f ect ed early colonial societ y, Wheat displays an impressive grasp of African

hist ory w hile also laying a compelling f oundat ion f or his int erpret at ion of t he Spanish

Caribbean as an ext ension of West Af rica.

At t ent ion t o t he int erconnect ed hist ories of Af rica, Iberia, and t he Americas carries

t raf f icked t o t he Spanish Caribbean came f rom Upper Guinea, in t he sevent eent h cent ury

Angola became a major point of embarkat ion f or enslaved people. Arguing t hat Port uguese

- Af rican st at e generat ed many

of t he capt ives w ho w ere t hen t raf f icked t o t he Caribbean. Elit es w ho prof it ed f rom t he

slave t rade in Luanda also played act ive roles as merchant s in Caribbean port s, t hereby

ext ending t heir inf luence and commercial relat ions across t he At lant ic and f urt her

cement ing t ies bet w een Port uguese West Af rica and t he Spanish colonies. Ow ing t o a

combinat ion of f act ors including t he nat ure of w arf are in West Cent ral Af rica and

legislat ion f avoring t he int roduct ion of enslaved people under age seven many of t he

people f orcibly t ransport ed across t he At lant ic in t he sevent eent h cent ury w ere children.

As Wheat explores in lat er chapt ers, t his in t urn shaped t he charact er of Spanish colonial

societ y, as enslaved children more quickly adapt ed t o Iberian linguist ic, religious, and

social norms.

t he charact er of Spanish

Caribbean societ y w as inf ormed by At lant ic Af rica. Wheat f ocuses on Port uguese

t angomãos

t han one year and one day on t he cont inent . In doing so, Wheat challenges t he w idespread

misconcept ion t hat t he encount er bet w een Af ricans and Europeans in t he Americas alw ays

const it ut ed a violent collision bet w een t w o cult ures w it h no prior experience of one

anot her. Inst ead, Wheat show s t hat many men w ho w ent t o t he Caribbean did so af t er

spending ext ended periods of t ime in Af rica. These t angomãos t hen drew on t heir

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w ould have been unknow n t o colonist s w ho arrived in Spanish America direct ly f rom

Iberia.

M any t angomãos f ormed relat ionships w it h Af rican w omen during t heir t ime aw ay

f rom Europe, f urt her f acilit at ing bot h commercial and cult ural exchange. These and ot her

gendered relat ionships inf orm

predominance and import ance of w omen in f ree- colored communit ies in t he early Spanish

makes an import ant int ervent ion in t he

hist oriography of early colonial Af ro- Lat in America, w hich of t en f ocuses on t he role of

Af rican men as milit ary agent s. Equally signif icant

of t en inf orm discussions of int erracial relat ionships in t he colonial era: f irst , t hat unions

bet w een Af rican or Afro- descended w omen and European men w ere generally view ed as

illicit or socially unaccept able, and second, t hat t hese unions ow ed t o a deart h of w hit e

w omen. While acknow ledging t he of t en unequal or exploit at ive nat ure of such

relat ionships, Wheat w orks t o dispel t hese not ions by emphasizing t he prevalence of

legit imat e if of t en inf ormal int erracial unions bot h in Af rica and in Iberia.

Like t heir count erpart s in Af rica, Brazil, and elsew here in t he At lant ic World,

w omen of color in t he early Spanish Caribbean occupied a variet y of roles. As sexual and

marit al part ners, business people, and t he ow ners of land and slaves, w omen w ere

inst rument al in shaping t hese societ ies. Wheat show s t hat Af rican- born w omen w ho w ere

incorporat ed int o Spanish colonial societ y of t en shed t heir et hnonyms in f avor of Iberian

surnames, suggest ing t hat changes in legal and social st at us accompanied changes in t he

ident it y t hat individuals claimed or w ere ascribed over t he course of a lif et ime.

descendant s f ulf illed t he role of colonist s in t he early Spanish Caribbean. By t he t urn of

t he sevent eent h cent ury, t he demographic prof ile of t he Spanish Caribbean had much in

common w it h t hat of ot her slave societ ies t hroughout t he Americas; Af ricans and t heir

descendant s const it ut ed a majorit y of t he populat ion in w est ern Cuba, Hispaniola,

Cart agena, Panama, and probably Puert o Rico. The occupat ions and t he experiences of

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people grew f ood, raised livest ock, and perf ormed many of t he same f unct ions as rural

him t o show t hat Spanish reliance on Af ricans t o f uel self - sust aining f arming and ranching

economies w as not unique; t he pract ice w as already w ell- est ablished by t he Port uguese in

t he At lant ic islands, w here enslaved populat ions labored on mixed- agricult ure f arms rat her

t han monocult ural plant at ions.

In t he f inal chapt er of his book, Wheat f urt her advances t he argument t hat

Af ricans and t heir descendant s played essent ial roles in expanding Spanish claims t o

t errit ory and legit imacy in t he Americas. Paying caref ul at t ent ion t o t he t erms used t o

describe Af ricans in Iberian commercial, legal, and ecclesiast ical records, Wheat f ocuses on

t he process of accult urat ion. He argues t hat

w as more t han just place of origin; rat her, such t erms ref lect ed t he possibilit ies open t o

individuals of Af rican descent w it hin colonial societ y. Once again, Wheat art f ully reorient s

t he geography of t he Spanish At lant ic t o include Lusophone Af rica. Draw ing on hist orians

of t he region such as John Thornt on and Pet er M ark, Wheat show s t hat accult urat ion

began on t he w est ern coast , w here decades of cont act bet w een Port uguese and

Af rican merchant s provided a basis f or mut ual exchange. Alt hough What is caref ul not t o

overst at e Af rican agency, he explores t he w ays in w hich Af ricans helped shape key

f eat ures of Spanish Caribbean societ y, sit uat ing t hem as act ors rat her t han passive

Af ricans select ively borrow ed element s of Iberian cult ure in order t o adjust and t o help

ot hers adjust t o lif e in t he Americas. Wheat also st resses t hat t he acquisit ion of a

European language or religious pract ice did not necessarily signif y t he loss of Af rican

cult ure; new ly- bapt ized slaves of t en shared an et hnonym w it h t heir godparent s, f urt her

illust rat ing how links f orged in Af rica cont inued t o inf orm relat ionships in t he diaspora.

t he not ion t hat t he circum- Caribbean w as a marginal or anomalous region of colonial

Lat in America; redraw s t he boundaries of t he Spanish Caribbean t o include Lusophone

West Af rica; and sit uat es Af ricans as colonist s albeit involunt ary ones w hose labor and

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American societ y. His many int ervent ions promise t o inf orm f ut ure scholarship on Lat in

America and t he Caribbean, West Af rica, and t he role of t he Port uguese in t he early

At lant ic World. M issing f rom t his ot herw ise ground- breaking and cogent ly- argued w ork is

a det ailed considerat ion of how Iberian geopolit ics impact ed t he colonial sphere. The

origins and specif ic ef f ect s of t he Iberian Union a sixt y- year period (1580- 1640) during

w hich t he same Hapsburg rulers cont rolled bot h Spain and Port ugal remain somew hat

underdeveloped. Wheat not es t hat t he union f acilit at ed t he t raf f ic of some 450,000

enslaved people, as w ell as t he circulat ion of unt old numbers of Port uguese merchant s

bet w een Iberia, Af rica, and t he Americas. But one is lef t w ondering w het her t he unif ied

hist ory he describes w ould even have been possible w it hout a decades- long era in w hich

.

decision t o devot e equal at t ent ion t o West Af rica and t he Spanish Caribbean accurat ely

ref lect s t he primacy he af f ords t o event s on t he ground rat her t han abst ract legislat ion,

draw ing t he Iberian Peninsula more f ully int o t his st ory may have f urt her elucidat ed t he

int er- cont inent al and int er- imperial exchanges he uncovers.

St udies of t he t ransat lant ic slave t rade and t he rise of t he plant at ion complex

cont inue t o of f er import ant insight on Af rican cont ribut ions t o colonial societ ies in Brazil

and beyond. Wit h At lant ic Africa and t he Spanish Caribbean, David Wheat pushes t his

model backw ards in t ime, demonst rat ing t he import ance of Af rican and Af ro- descended

peoples in a t ime and place w here t he plant at ion syst em did not predominat e. His nuanced

discussion of how event s in Af rica, as w ell as West Cent ral Africans t hemselves, shaped

some of t he earliest set t lement s in t he Americas signif icant ly broadens and reorient s

exist ing underst andings of t he int erconnect ed nat ure of t he Af ro- At lant ic World. View ed

f rom t he vant age point of West Af rica and t he Port uguese At lant ic, t he early Spanish

Caribbean looks not like an aberrat ion in colonial Lat in America hist ory, but a nat ural

product of longst anding relat ions and pract ices on t he Af rican coast .

Dat a de recebiment o da resenha: 02/11/2016