Leprosy and exile: the biopolitics of the Hawaiian monarchy in the 19th century

Authors

  • André Luiz de Souza Oliveira State University of Rio de Janeiro
  • Thaddeus Gregory Blanchette Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12957/revmar.2019.33671

Keywords:

Hawaii, Leprosy, Sovereignty, Biopower

Abstract

This article intends to analyze, from a Foucaultian perspective, how biopolitics was consolidated in Hawaii in the 19th century through Western influence. To do this, we look at the Act to prevent the Spread of Leprosy (1865) and its political and social consequences as an object of analysis. First, we briefly contextualize the political and social scenario of 19th century Hawaii, a subject not much discussed in Brazilian historiography. Then we differentiate the concepts of sovereign power and biopower in order to indicate how the criminalization of Hansen’s disease (“leprosy”) by King Kamehameha V relates to Michel Foucault's biopower theory. The Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy profoundly affected the lives of the native Hawaiian population and proved to be part of the American and European influence that would undermine the country's own autonomy.

Author Biographies

André Luiz de Souza Oliveira, State University of Rio de Janeiro

Graduado em História pela UERJ (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro), pós-graduado em Sociologia pela Estácio de Sá e Mestre em História pela UFF (Universidade Federal Fluminense). Possui pesquisas no campo da História Cultural, História dos Estados Unidos e relações entre a literatura e a história.

Thaddeus Gregory Blanchette, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Possui graduação em Português (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1997), graduação em Sociologia (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1997), graduação em Latin American Studies (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1997), mestrado em Antropologia Social pelo Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (2001) e doutorado em Antropologia Social pelo Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (2006). Atualmente, sou professor de antropologia na Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Campus Macaé. 

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Published

2019-01-17

How to Cite

Oliveira, A. L. de S., & Blanchette, T. G. (2019). Leprosy and exile: the biopolitics of the Hawaiian monarchy in the 19th century. Revista Maracanan, (20), 248–265. https://doi.org/10.12957/revmar.2019.33671

Issue

No. 20 (2019): History of Religions: from building a discipline to its current challenges

Section

Articles

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