“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

The chronic instability engendered by the Guerra Grande presented an even more
acute threat to the Brazilian slave labor system. 6 As violence engulfed the Río de la Plata,
slaves streamed across the border into Uruguay and the Argentine provinces to enter the
military, work as contract laborers or to join with other relatives. 7 The problem of slaves
crossing the border became more pronounced as Rivera turned to manumission to meet the
demands for adequate manpower to conduct his military campaigns. 8 As early as 1841, the
colorado general engaged in the widespread recruitment of both Uruguayan and Brazilian
slaves fleeing from their masters. 9 Following his defeat at Arroyo Grande in 1842, Rivera and
his colorado allies faced a crisis. Oribe’s blancos swept into Uruguay, threatening to overwhelm
the remaining colorado opposition in Montevideo. Desperate to defend the Uruguayan
capital, the colorado legislature moved to abolish slavery in the Estado Oriental altogether. 10
Rivera immediately incorporated some 1,400 newly freed blacks into his forces defending
Montevideo’s ramparts. 11 Oribe encircled the capital and began a prolonged siege. Oribe’s
constant need for soldiers to sustain his campaign, however, led him to follow a similar path
as his colorado enemies. The blanco commander gradually incorporated slaves into his army
around the city. In 1846, blanco leaders joined their colorado rivals in abolishing slavery. With
this declaration, born of military necessity, the Uruguayan border with Brazil became a
juridical boundary separating ostensibly free and slave labor systems. For riograndense
6
For the impact of military conflicts on Brazilian slavery, see, among others, Farinatti,
"Confins Meridionais", 298-313. For rural Argentina and Uruguay, see Juan Carlos
Garavaglia and Jorge D. Gelman, "Rural History of the Rio de la Plata, 1600-1850: Results of
a Historiographical Renaissance," Latin American Research Review 30 (1995): 87.
7
Silmei de Sant'Ana Petiz, Buscando a Liberdade: As Fugas de Escravos da Província de São
Pedro para o Além-Fronteira, 1815-1851 (Passo Fundo, RS, Brasil: Universidade de Passo
Fundo, UPF Editora, 2006), 40-51.
8
Borucki, Chagas, and Stalla, Esclavitud y Trabajo, 34-5.
9
Ibid., 36-7.
10
Ibid., 44-50.
11
Barrán, Apogeo y Crisis, 24.
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