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Devoo e Escravido. A Irmandade de Nossa Senhora do Rosrio dos Pretos no DistritoDiamantino no Sculo XVIII. by Julita ScaranoReview by: A. J. R. Russell-WoodThe Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 57, No. 2 (May, 1977), pp. 339-340Published by: Duke University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2513796 .

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BOOK REVIEWS I COLONIAL AND INDEPENDENCE 339suspicioushusband; in cases of adultery,women,more often han not,boretheburdenofproof; he correctionf"sins" nd crimeswas under-taken via Christian epentance nd hard work n institutionsn whichthe treatment f the inmateswas sometimes uestionable and alwaysreflectedthe social class of the punished women. Somehow it isdifficult o see recogimientos s institutionsull of "a deep sense ofhumanunderstanding"p. 220). In conclusion, hisworkhas themeritof having broughtunder scrutiny worthwhilehistorical topic. Itwould have been desirablethat t searcheddeeper and more criticallyinto the social implications f recogimientos.

Howard University ASUNCION LAVRIN

Devosdo e Escraviddo. A Irmandade de Nossa Senhora do RosdriodosPretosno DistritoDiamantinono Se culo XVIII. ByJULITA SCARANO.Sdo Paulo, 1976. Companhia Editora Nacional. Tables. Appen-dices. Bibliography.Pp. 171. Paper. CR$ 40.00.Brazil was the only region of the ethnicallydiverse Portugueseempirewhere the European model of the lay brotherhoodwas exten-sivelyadopted by a non-Europeanpopulation. Difficulty f access to,and destruction f, source materials have discouraged studyof thisimportant ubject. Dr. Scarano's essay on the Rosary of the DiamondDistrict s the first ook-length reatment f a non-white rotherhoodinPortugueseAmerica.After urveying he status fbrotherhoodsis-a-vis Church and State and their socioeconomic position in Portugal,

the author discusses the veneration of Our Lady of the Rosary byBlacks. Two central ections deal specificallywith the Rosary of theDiamond District: the first emphasizes religious activities of thebrotherhood nd its role as a mutual protection ociety; the secondtreats he financialoperationof the brotherhood.Finally, the authorturns o the broader ssue of the Rosary s a cohesiveforce nd vehicleforgroup aspirations.Hopes raised by the promise of a much-needed studybased onextensive rchivalresearchremainunfulfilled. his essayadds little oour general knowledge of Black brotherhoods nd opens up no newavenuesof nquiry. ts value lies in the details t provideson the Rosaryof the Diamond District. Sections on membership nd finance ufferfrom ack of information, recluding an assessmentof the represen-

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340 HAHR I MAYtativenatureofmembersor the drawingup of a fiscalbalance sheet.Suggestionsthat brotherhoodswere instruments f crown control,sourcesofcollectivedissent, r preservers fAfrican raditions, emainhypothetical ecause of the dearth of substantiating vidence. ThatBlack brotherhoodswere more effective efenders f group interestsinPortugal han n Brazil s not satisfactorilyxplained. That changingideologies n the ate eighteenth entury p. 100) had an impacton theRosary s an intriguing ypothesis.This essayunderscores ifficulties fresearch nto this topic. First,littleor no materialof Black authorship, roviding nsights nto Blackattitudes r value systems, s available. Secondly,evidence predating1760 is scanty; ess than a score of codices are listed for the Rosary ofthe Diamond District n the colonial period. Dr. Scarano has "fluffedout"her basic data by digressions n topicstangential r irrelevant otheRosary, .g.,royalpatronage,militia, fifths." hirdly, xtantmate-rial exhibits sameness-statutes,randomaccount edgers,recordsofelections and sayingof masses. Statutes hould be used with caution:a statement f ntent s not tantamount orecorded ction, .g., recom-mendation that the brotherhood ssist slaves in purchasingfreedomis not evidenceper se that uch manumissionsccurred, nless corrobo-rated by minute books or fiscal ledgers. This essay is welcome forgiving attention o a long-disregarded heme and for focussingonarchivaldepositories emanding cholarly crutiny. t also servesas aword of cautionforthose temptedto see in the non-Whitebrother-hoods ofPortugueseAmerica virtually imitless ieldfordissertationsormonographs.

The JohnsHopkins University A. J.R. RUSSELL-WOOD

Politics, Economics and Society in Argentina n the RevolutionaryPeriod. By TULiO HALPERIN-DONGHI. ranslated by RICHARDSOUTHERN. London, 1975. Cambridge UniversityPress. Table.Bibliography. ndex. Pp. xii, 425. Cloth. $42.50.Forwhatever eason,most f thebooks written yArgentine cholar

Halperin-Donghi University f California,Berkeley) have gone un-reviewed n journals n the United States-a circumstance horoughlyundeservedby one ofLatin America'smore profound nd productivehistorians.One, therefore, eviewswithmore than the usual sense of

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