First published in 2006. This work introduced Brazil to the English-speaking world when it was first published in 1857, and it is the best early account of the country written in English. Fletcher and Kidder were both missionaries in Brazil, K1ader living there between 1837 and 1840, and Fletcher some twenty years later. Although they were not in Brazil at the same time, they subsequently collaborated on this book, supplementing their direct experiences of the country by interviewing leading citizens, and by using material drawn from Documents of the Imperial and provincial archives of Brazil, and from Brazilian state papers. The work therefore benefits from two different viewpoints, and from a period of observation that covers some thirty years. At the time the book was written, most English readers were better acquainted with China and India than with Brazil, which in the popular mind, as the authors put it, was a land of ‘mighty rivers and virgin forests, palm trees and jaguars anaconaas and alligators, diamond-mining, revolutions and earthquakes’. Fletcher and Kidder were determined to show another side of Brazil – that of a stable constitutional monarchy and growing nation, the descendants of the Portuguese holding_ I the same relative position in South America as the descendants o1 the English in North America. The portrait of Brazil and the Brazilians they present is unexpected and fascinating -an elaborate colonia1 society ruled over by an emperor with a privileged bourgeoisie and fine cities – outposts of European culture surrounded by encroaching jungle. The work is arranged in twenty-six chapters. Fletcher and Kidder begin by recounting the little-known early history of Brazil, then go on to describe the culture and customs of the country in great detail, covering everything from the government of Brazil, the marriage of Christian and heathenism, the Brazilian home, Brazilian women, the nobility and the Emperor’s palace to Amazon steamers, gold mines, slavery and the Indian and African inhabitants whose descendants are among Brazil’s present.- cosmopolitan population. Accounts of travel within the country will give the authors an opportunity to describe Brazil’s distinctive flora and fauna and striking natural features, a panoramic treatment complimented by charming line drawings. Tnis volume- was justifiably acclaimed on Publication, and it remains essential and enjoyable reading for a11 those interested in Brazil’s past, present and future.
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