This article is based on the author’s critical retrospective study of the life and works of Joaquim Nabuco, a politician and abolitionist. She attempts to reinterpret the traditional picture presented in classical historical biographies after having perused reviews of his books and analyzed the repercussion of his work in the media. Her interpretation is in tune with the context of his times. She analyzes newspaper articles on Nabuco written by contemporary historians and criticizes academic endeavors to show abolitionist Nabuco as a kind of sainted protector of slaves. The author maintains that even when he advocated a cause apparently just in his days, Nabuco was not averse to stereotyping and to the then typical racism ostracizing Negroes.
Joaquim Nabuco; St. Nabuco; historiography; abolitionism