1st Edition
Conflicts and Conspiracies Brazil and Portugal, 1750-1808
A study of Brazil during a critical formative period which illuminates the causes of her special historical development within Latin America. Professor Maxwell analyzes the shifting relationships between Portugal, England and Brazil during the second half of the 18th Century. Through his study, Professor Maxwell is concerned with the social, economic and political significance of the events he describes. An important part of this work is a study of the Minas Conspiracy of 1788-89.
Glossary 1: Dispositions Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo - the Luso-Brazilian commercial system - the British Factory - free traders and contrabandists - new measures - opposition - privileged trading companies - nationalization- Jesuits - the chosen collaborators. 2: Change The international situation - fears of British power - the development of the northeast - reforms - the juntas da fazenda - economic crisis - the contraction of British trade - industrial development - the privileged established interests. 3: Divergence Growing tensions - laxity in Minas Gerais - the Diamond District - the contracts - the fall of Pombal - extinction of the companies- debilitation of the role of the Royal Treasury - nobles and businessmen- neo-mercantilism - subversion. 4: Confrontation Minas Gerais - the regional economy - society - the élite - distinctive solutions - patronage disputes - alienation- Melo e Castro - a classical conflict. 5: Conspiracy The tactics of revolt - the activists - the ideologues - the financial interests - the program - disagreements - nativism - social conservatism - the plot. 6: Skulduggery The suspension of the derrama - the coalition in disarray - loyalists - arrest in Rio de Janiero - the devassas - the death of Cláudio Manuel da Costa - Manitti - the viceroy and the governor - the contractors escape incrimination. 7: Crisis The records in Lisbon - the British - diplomatic successes - Melo e Castro - the alçada - the scapegoat - dangerous sleeping dogs - the sentence - the hanging of Tiradentes - a double failure. 8: Compromise Dom Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho - proposals for reform - a federative empire - dearth and prosperity- the Bahian mulattoes - opposition - the choice - the dénouement. Maps Statistical Appendix Bibliography Index
Biography
Kenneth Maxwell holds the Nelson and David Rockefeller Chair in Inter-American Studies at the Council of Foriegn Relations. He has taught at Yale, Princeton and Columbia Universities and the University of Kansas. Dr. Maxwell's recent books include Naked Tropics: Essays on Empire and Other Rogues (2003), The Making of Portuguese Democracy (1995) and Pombal: Paradox of the Enlightenment (1995).
"This brilliant monograph has long reigned as the premier treatment on the origins of Brazilian independence. It has no equal and richly deserves a new readership." -- Thomas Skidmore, Brown University
"This attractive edition should make the Luso-Brazilian world of the late eighteenth century more accessible to English-language readers, especially those interested in the empires of the Atlantic World." --Mary Karash, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan
