Description
Book SynopsisThis is the story of a spectacular naval rebellion in which ordinary Brazilian seamen (mostly black and led by a black sailor) overpowered their officers on Dreadnought-class battleships in 1910, to abolish flogging and secure civic rights; it also tells how the sailors suffered lethal retribution, although flogging would never return.
Trade Review"Based on thorough research in archives and on a careful rereading of the existing scholarship, the text offers original analyses and unveils new sources in an innovative way." -- Silvia Capanema *
Hispanic American Historical Review *
"Joseph L. Love, author of important works on the political history of Brazil's Old Republic (1889-1930), skillfully traces the social, political, and cultural context of the first decade of the twentieth century and Brazil's naval rearmament program that prompted the purchase of the two state-of-the-art warships from British shipyards. He provides compelling narratives of the November mutiny and the December revolt and carefully analyzes the issues of race and class that the mutiny cast into sharp relief—lower-class and mostly black sailors who removed their white officers and demonstrated their ability to handle the massive dreadnoughts (contrary to the prevailing scientific-racist wisdom)." -- Hendrik Kraay
"In this compact book, there is both a big and insightful argument about the stakes in Brazilian politics across the twentieth century and an important and original contribution to understanding the transition in Brazilian politics during the Old Republic." -- Dain Borges * University of Chicago *
"Love offers more than a dramatic blow-by-blow narrative of [Brazil's 1910 Navy Revolt]; he deftly supplies a broader context that renders it newly intelligible." -- Peter M. Beattie
"Historical research and writing on the revolt was stimulated by its centenary in 2010. Most of the resulting publications were written in Portuguese, so Joseph Love's book is valuable in providing the option of an English-language study . . . Love's short study is commendable in using a historical event to highlight the controversial issue of race relations in modern Brazil." -- Joseph Smith *
Journal of Latin American Studies *
"This is a solid contribution to our understanding of color, class, and politics in Brazil's Old Republic, with clear implications for the ongoing debate on such matters in present-day Brazil. Because of the quality of the writing and the scholarship, it will become an enduring reference, one with potential to inspire continued work on class and political repression." -- Jeffrey D. Needell * University of Florida *
