Laborers and Enslaved Workers

Marcelo Badaró Mattos is Full Professor of Brazilian History at Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including Trabalhadores e sindicatos no Brazil (Workers and Trade Unions in Brazil; second edition, 2009) and E. P. Thompson e a tradição de crítica ativa do materialismo histórico (E. P. Thompson and the Tradition of Active Critique of Historical Materialism; 2012).

• Preface to the Edition in EnglishIntroductionChapter 1. Work, urban life and the experience of exploitationChapter 2. Forms of organizationChapter 3. Resistance and StruggleChapter 4. ConsciousnessConclusionBibliographyIndex

“There are many merits of Mattos’s book and its important contribution to making Brazilian labour history better known to English-speaking readers.” • International Review of Social History“Moving outside the walls of university campuses and instead touching the hearts and minds of common people—particularly the youth and teachers in schools but also activists of social movements—Mattos’s most widespread contribution to contemporary Brazil is bringing attention to the fact that human beings were enslaved, which is a necessary modification in the way Brazilian history is perceived and told.”  • The American Historical Review“This is a fine piece of historical scholarship. Accessibly written and deeply researched, it offers important insights into the ways in which, despite their differences, enslaved and free workers combined their experiences as members of a working class with the ongoing movement to abolish slavery.” • Henrique Espada Lima, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina