“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Like the wandering gauchos (or gaúchos) of Erico Verissimo’s sweeping epoch of Rio
Grande do Sul, I began this project in a wilderness. My goal was to enter a world that
appeared lawless and find the laws of these men without countries or even at times names.
Before I could hope to accomplish this task, however, I had to find my own way through the
borderlands. To do so, I journeyed to a dozen archives in a half-dozen cities in three
countries. In the process, I have accumulated a great many debts to those kind enough to
guide my way intellectually, materially and emotionally along this winding road. This
dissertation is the result of the many hands that have been selflessly extended to pick me up
when I was down and to return me to the path when I feared this venture lost.
To begin my mapping of the borderlands, I relied on a number of sources of support
at Princeton University. The Program in Latin American Studies and the Princeton Institute
for International and Regional Studies provided travel grants for an initial research trip to the
archives in Montevideo. Friends and colleagues also contributed invaluable support in
formulating the project. My adviser Jeremy Adelman offered patient guidance and a calm
hand throughout the many moments when I felt lost and overwhelmed. Hendrik Hartog
kept me focused on the law and the invaluable insights of legal historiography. Lauren
Benton offered valuable comments on my prospectus, as well as guidance in the Uruguayan
archives that served to orient me throughout this project. Friends like Jamie Kreiner, Jessica
Lowe, Anne Twitty, Chris Shannon, Chris Moses, Benjamin Schmidt, Dael Norwood and
Alex Bick offered me sound advice and probing questions throughout. Through these
consultations, workshops and meetings, the contours of this project began to first emerge in
my mind.
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