Workshop of revolution : plebeian Buenos Aires and the Atlantic world, 1776-1810 /

This book represents a major contribution by one of the field's best historians. Johnson (Univ. of North Carolina, Charlotte) spent 20 years combing through various archives and has created an impressive picture of the real lives of working-class folk in a rapidly changing port city on the eve of revolution. Chapters discuss the changing nature of the built environment, economic and social interactions of the plebe, the transformation of collective enterprises, demographic pressures, and fluctuations in wages and prices. Perhaps the most intriguing chapter, however, is the one that details the so-called French Conspiracy of 1795, a little-known but apparently quite frightening rumor of a slave rebellion. This excellent book is a valuable counterpoint to the work of previous generations, which tended to focus on heroes and high politics; it also complements the recent books by Jeremy Adelman and Peter Blanchard that seek to recover the experiences of workers, members of the lower classes, and nonwhite people. Johnson's research indicates that artisans and workers there were subject to the same pressures and responded in ways comparable to their peers in Europe, North America, and elsewhere in Latin America. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. K. L. Racine University of Guelph