Considering the lack of scholarship on women’s contributions to the abolition process, this article is invaluable in encouraging further discussion and research to allow us to gain a broader and more thorough understanding of the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century. By demonstrating how it was shaped by ‘women’s agency and the dynamics of gender’, Cowling, a historian of slavery and abolition in the Americas and the Atlantic world, offers a ground-breaking new perspective. “As a Slave Woman and as a Mother” is also an important contribution to the field of global history because its analysis involves using international connections and understandings of slavery and gender.
The article explores the significance of Cuban and Brazilian…show more content… Cowling analyses why enslaved women living in cities and urban areas were much more likely to make legal claims due to higher salaries, better relationships with owners, and proximity to lawyers, appeal courts, and other legal mechanisms. Moreover, the importance of the urban is further developed through Cowling’s suggestion of an ‘urban culture of claims-making’ which emphasises the role of the community, lawyers, and neighbours in encouraging women to make legal claims and in ensuring the success of cases. Through her use of this terminology, the reader is introduced to a new, fascinating concept relating to the broader network of communications between the enslaved and freed population which deserve greater research and…show more content… Cowling does not consider the possibility that the accounts finally presented to the courts by the representatives were truly reflective of the situation and not altered by other agendas. Finally, Cowling alludes to the national Emancipation Fund in Brazil which focused on freeing women in urban areas. Although, she repeatedly acknowledges the importance of women being freed, she doesn’t approach the question of why women represented the majority of those seeking freedom, outside of the fact that the child’s status followed that of the mother. A crucial reason, which is not explored in the article, is that enslaved women were seen as less valuable agricultural labourers and fetched lower prices. Hence, by freeing women first, the nation could retain the most productive slaves (the men) for longer. Therefore, perhaps the status of men could have been further explored in the context of women’s roles in order to present a balanced portrayal of the emancipation
