¿Eran cuidadanos los afrodescendientes libres en las sociedades esclavistas?: Cuba, Brasil y Estados Unidos en el siglo XIX (Estudios)

Se analiza el tema del estatus de los afrodescendientes libres en las sociedades esclavistas más pobladas de América, desde el punto de vista de los derechos políticos y sociales de súbditos y ciudadanos. Con la carta de libertad, los antiguos esclavos y sus descendientes libres adquirieron teóricamente los mismos derechos y obligaciones que la población blanca eurodescendiente. Sin embargo, por razones de “seguridad pública” y de “mantención del orden establecido”, en la práctica, se establecieron restricciones y privilegios para mantener la distancia social entre blancos y afrodescendientes. Desde una perspectiva comparada se estudian Brasil, Cuba y los Estados Unidos, las tres sociedades esclavistas más notorias en América durante el siglo XIX, y se examina este proceso tomando como objetos de análisis los derechos de libre movimiento, el acceso a la enseñanza superior, el sufragio y la propiedad.This article addresses the status of free people of African descent in the Americas’ largest slave societies using the point of view of social and political rights of subjects and citizens. With the letter of freedom, former slaves could obtain for themselves and their freeborn descendants, in theory at least, the same rights and obligations that had been conferred to the population of European origin. However, for reasons of “public safety” and the desire to “maintain the established order”, restrictions for some and privileges for others were established in order to preserve the social distance between Whites and African-Americans. Comparing the three most notorious slave societies in the Americas during the nineteenth century, Brazil, Cuba and the United States, this article examines the right of free movement, access to higher education, as well as suffrage and property rights

Stable aggregate dynamics and carbon storage in acidified forest soils: Influence of atmospheric deposition and conifer conversion at the Fernow Experimental Forest

This research explored effects of ecosystem change from increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and stand conversion from mixed-species hardwood to Norway spruce in three experimental watersheds at the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF). I measured soil aggregation and organic matter (OM) content to investigate the influence of forest fertilization in Watershed 3 (WS3), a hardwood forest receiving (NH4)2SO4 fertilizer, versus Watershed 7 (WS7), a natural hardwood forest. I compared WS7 to Watershed 6 (WS6), a converted Norway spruce (Picea abies) monoculture. I quantified WS6 and WS7 C and N ecosystem pools, including vegetation biomass, forest floor, and mineral soil, and nitrate (NO3-N) atmospheric deposition and stream export, to create a C and N ecosystem budget. WS3 and WS6 soils demonstrated macro-aggregate dispersion and greater weight in the µm aggregate size class – associated with lower soil pH – relative to the reference watershed. WS7 soils have greater aggregate weight – and in the B-horizon, greater organic matter (OM) content – in size classes 250 - 2000 µm. WS3 soils exhibit greater intra-aggregate OM beneath arbuscular mycorrhizal-associated trees with labile litter; WS7 soils contain more intra-aggregate OM beneath ectomycorrhizal-associated trees. WS6 conversion significantly impacted N cycling; atmospheric NO3-N inputs are equal, yet streamflow exports from WS6 are negligible and inorganic N content is more than 5 times lower than WS7. WS6 A-horizon microbially-active C is significantly lower. As much of the world has been exposed to similar impacts, further study to determine how these systems will respond to our changing global climate is necessary