Negros o esclavos: la retórica de la esclavitud en la prensa española del exilio londinense (1818-1825)

This article examines the differences in the use of the terms: “negroes”, “slaves” and “slavery” in the Spanish press published in London while in liberal exile between 1818 and 1825. The aim is to frame the ideological and cultural implications arising from previously mentioned differences differences and to analyse the meaning of slavery in the context of Spanish liberalism. After categorising the concepts, the article tackles the term “blacks” in opposition to the use and rhetoric of the concepts of “slaves” and “slavery”, in the context of the construction of liberal discourses in the 18th and 19th centuries; and particularly in the shaping of the first anti-slave trade and anti-slavery discourses in Spain. Finally, this article analyses the differences in the use of the aforementioned terms in the two most relevant newspapers published in London by the Spanish exiles: El Español Constitucional and Ocios de los Españoles Emigrados.