On the Spot: Courtney J. Campbell
‘What historical topic have I changed my mind on? I used to give the powerful a lot of agency and the oppressed little.’
Brazil
Zambi of Palmares is Beheaded
On 20 November 1695, Zambi of Palmares – ruler of an ‘invincible’ community of former slaves in the Brazilian jungle – was killed by the Portuguese.
‘The Vote is of the People’
Brazilian democracy is young, hard-won and under threat. As the country goes to the polls, its history reminds us that the right to vote is not a given.
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Brazil’s cars have run on ‘green fuel’ for a century, but this has not come without costs.
The Origins of Rio de Janeiro
The teeming metropolis was once an undeveloped natural bay which became the site of a battle between Portugal and France for control of the New World.
Brazil in the First World War
Roderick Barman examines the circumstances surrounding Brazil’s entry into the Great War and appraises the conflict’s legacy on the developing nation.
A British Railway in Brazil
The San Paulo Railway, funded with money from the City of London, was one of the engineering marvels of the Victorian age.
In the Time of the Flemings: the Dutch in Brazil, 1624-54
C.R. Boxer recalls “the time of the Flemings” (Tempo dos Flamengos), as the period of the Dutch occupation of Pernambuco province in Brazil used to be called.
Empire of Exceptions: The Making of Modern Brazil
Brazil may be one of the 21st century’s emerging superpowers, but its independence from Portugal was not inevitable, nor was its survival certain.
A French Farce in Brazil
Spain and Portugal divided almost all of South America between them, but in the 16th century the French also had commercial and colonial ambitions in Brazil. Robert Knecht tells the stories of two French expeditions that ended in disaster.