Affiliation:
1. Universidade Federal do Tocantins Brazil
Abstract
Following the enactment of the Eusébio de Queirós law under British pressure in 1850, the Brazilian Empire brought an end to the international slave trade. Illicit arrivals continued to occur, but around 1856 the trade was deemed extinct by the Brazilian authorities. This study discusses rumours and potential evidence of illicit trafficking on the brink of the repeal of the Aberdeen Act, which stirred up officials from the Brazilian Empire, as well as diplomats from the United States and the United Kingdom, and suggest a connection with the conclusion of the American Civil War, particularly Confederate emigration, and a racist organisation in the United States.