Considerada como um dos maiores marcos da história norte-americana, a Guerra Civil (1861- 1865) marcou as transformações das relações sociais, trabalhistas e raciais nos Estados Unidos e circunscreve-se no âmbito das mudanças do século XIX, especialmente nos eventos que concorreram para o fim do tráfico de escravos africanos e da abolição do cativeiro nas Américas. As questões da guerra ultrapassaram as fronteiras norte-americanas e influenciaram as mudanças nas formas de trabalho responsáveis pela economia no Brasil. Através de fontes parlamentares, diplomáticas e da imprensa, entre outras, investigamos entre 1861, ano que se inicia o conflito americano, e 1888, data que marca oficialmente o fim da escravidão no Brasil, como as informações sobre a Guerra Civil e seus desdobramentos influenciaram os debates políticos sobre o destino da escravidão. Por meio de uma perspectiva transnacional e articulando o debate sobre o processo de emancipação nas Américas, este trabalho procura enfatizar as ideias de abolicionistas e políticos, seus pensamentos sobre as mudanças do trabalho servil para o livre, o destino da população escravizada, as questões raciais e a produção econômica no Brasil. Consequentemente, este estudo tem como objetivo compreender como a Guerra Civil americana foi interpretada no Brasil e como isso influenciou os discursos políticos, projetos de emancipação, bem como os escritos de abolicionistas entre as décadas de 1860 e 1880. / Considered one of the biggest moments in the history of North America, the Civil War (1861- 1865) marked transformations in social, worker and race relations in the United States given the broader changes in the nineteenth century, especially related to the end of the African slave trade and the abolition of captives in the Americas. The war passed North-American boundaries and influenced changes in the forms of laborin the Brazilian economy. Through parliamentary, diplomatic and journalistic sources, among others, this thesis investigates how the information about the Civil War and its repercussions influenced political debates on the destiny of slavery between 1861, the year that the American conflict began, and 1888, the date that marks the official end of slavery in Brazil. Through a transnational perspective and articulating with the debates on the emancipation process in the Americas, this work aims to emphasis the ideas of abolitionists and politicians, their thoughts on the changes from servile to free labor, the destiny of the enslaved population, racial questions and economic production in Brazil. Consequently, this study has the objective of understanding how the American Civil War was interpreted in Brazil and how it influenced political discourses, emancipatory projects, as well as the writings of abolitionists between 1860 and 1880.

New Caledonia (1698-1700) was Scotland’s largest independent colonial venture. The scheme’s collapse crippled the country financially and was an important factor in the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707. This project explores the identity of Scottish settlers who attempted to colonize the Darien region of modern Panama. Colonial identity is assessed by reconstructing the Scottish dialogue about the natural world, the aboriginal population, and the commonwealth. I contend that the ideology of improvement that shaped Scottish perceptions of utility and fertility in the Darien became a powerful moral discourse used to critique the colonists. This paper also chronicles Scottish aspirations to found an empire of trade and civility, uncovering the fundamental problems created by the idealization of the Tule as eager subjects of this new empire. Finally, I argue that Caledonia’s food shortages not only threatened the colonial government’s legitimacy, they also exposed divergent ideals of the commonwealth among the settlers.