Edgardo Pérez Morales is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Southern California. He specializes in Colombia and its connections with the Caribbean and the Atlantic World. He is the author of No Limits to Their Sway: Cartagena's Privateers and the Masterless Caribbean in the Age of Revolutions.

List of figures; Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Prologue: antislavery, abolition, and the judicial forum; 1. Raynal in the new kingdom?; 2. Landscapes of slavery, rumors of freedom; 3. Popayán: prudent legislation; 4. Cartagena: equality and natural law; 5. Antioquia: free womb, captive slaves; 6. An exegesis of liberty; Epilogue: the slaves before the law; Notes; Index.

"It is criminal selfishness to seek liberty and independence from Spain for ourselves, if we wish not to grant it to our slaves." With these stern words, the lawyer Fâelix Josâe de Restrepo addressed his colleagues, the delegates to the first General Congress of the Republic of Colombia, in 1821. As the delegates worked out the new republic's constitution and foundational laws, Restrepo invited them to consider the problem of slavery: were slaves, like other humans, "children of Adam" and thus eligible for equal rights? Were "whites" entitled to dominate "blacks"? Was any government that upheld slavery a "criminal" government by definition? Should independence from Spain automatically lead to liberty for slaves? As the South American independence movement reached its climax, Restrepo forcefully developed clear-cut questions. But would they find clear and forceful answers, as many slaves and some free people hoped? In 1821 Restrepo defended freedom over slavery on behalf of humanity, religion, and the decorum of the nascent country. He introduced a manumission bill, ostensibly aiming to end coerced labor. It is indispensable to "annihilate slavery," he insisted. In Restrepo's view, the General Congress represented the ideal opportunity to restore enslaved individuals to their human "dignity" while giving neighboring countries an example of "justice." Ending slavery, moreover, would dignify the revolution against Spain, guaranteeing future economic and political stability for the new republic. Restrepo asserted that it remained a contradiction to pray to God for deliverance from foreign tyrants while keeping thousands of people in captivity. Providence, he predicted, would throw Colombia back into the hands of Spain "if we refuse to exercise mercy with our brothers"--