This article analyzes slave resistance, capital crimes, and state violence in the Mississippi Valley and the Paraíba Valley – two of the most dynamic plantation economies of the nineteenth century. The research focused on the intersection between slavery and criminal law in Brazil and the United States. The analysis of capital crimes committed by enslaved people in Natchez and Vassouras revealed changing patterns of resistance and judicial punishment through the decades. This investigation demonstrated that local experiences of violence on plantations and in courtrooms were connected to the dynamics of national politics and the world economy. Moreover, this comparative study illuminated differences between these racialized slave societies and their political systems and revealed the essence of distinct regimes of racial violence in the Americas.

本文分析了密西西比河谷和帕拉伊巴河谷——十九世纪最具活力的两个种植园经济——的奴隶抵抗、死刑犯罪和国家暴力。该研究的重点是巴西和美国的奴隶制与刑法之间的交集。对 Natchez 和 Vassouras 的奴隶所犯死罪的分析揭示了几十年来不断变化的抵抗和司法惩罚模式。这项调查表明，当地在种植园和法庭上的暴力经历与国家政治和世界经济的动态有关。此外，这项比较研究阐明了这些种族化的奴隶社会及其政治制度之间的差异，并揭示了美洲不同种族暴力制度的本质。