Introduction; 1. The reform of empire in the late eighteenth century; 2. From foreign invasion to imperial disintegration; 3. Decolonization's progeny: restoration, disaggregation, and recalibration; 4. The last Atlantic revolution: emigrados, Miguelists, and the Portuguese Civil War; 5. After Brazil, after civil war: the origins of Portugal's African empire; Conclusion: the long shadow of Empire in the Luso-Atlantic world; Bibliography.
A pioneering account of the links between Portugal and Brazil which survived despite the demise of the Portuguese Atlantic empire.
Gabriel Paquette is an Assistant Professor of History at The Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of Enlightenment, Governance, and Reform in Spain and its Empire, 1759–1808 (2008), editor of Enlightened Reform in Southern Europe and its Atlantic Colonies, c.1750–1830 (2009) and co-editor of Connections after Colonialism: Europe and Latin America in the 1820s (2013).
'By asking how the Portuguese empire lasted not why it lagged,
Gabriel Paquette overturns conventional historical wisdom on
Brazil, Portugal and the Atlantic world. His erudite study also
convincingly shows how essential political and intellectual history
are for transnational and imperial history. All in all, a masterly
achievement.' David Armitage, Lloyd C. Blankfein Professor of
History, Harvard University
'This is an excellent work, which analyses the Luso-Brazilian world
in the wider context of the Atlantic revolutions, breaking away
from national frameworks of historiography that have constrained
research. The vigorous reform of the Portuguese empire, followed by
independent monarchical Brazil and long term disentanglement of the
different parts of the empire, are freshly assessed through a new
evaluation of continuities in the economic, social and cultural
fields.' Francisco Bethencourt, Charles Boxer Professor, King's
College London
'Gabriel Paquette brilliantly provides both historical evidence and
analytical arguments allowing for a better understanding of the
breakdown of the Portuguese empire in South America. He also
presents a convincing explanation of the persistent and friendly
relationship between Portugal and Brazil after Brazilian
independence in 1822. The book offers new insights to demonstrate
that the end of colonial empires is not necessarily the outcome of
conflicts and rebellions, but rather the consequence of continuous
and enlightened reforms. The book meets high research standards and
is compulsory reading for all those interested in colonial and
postcolonial historical studies.' José Luís Cardoso, University of
Lisbon
'Painstaking, scholarly, revealing and judicious … It is inspiring
to be told that we should speak of 'degrees of independence' and
reject 'the neat demarcation between colonial and national
history'. It is comforting to find a historian alert to 'fuzziness,
wobbliness, ambiguity' and ambivalence. Some readers may be
disappointed at the hesitancy of the final summation, in which
Paquette sees both 'discontinuity and seamless transition' at work.
But his willingness to relish the beguiling contradictions of
evidence helps to make this painstaking, scholarly, revealing and
judicious work thoroughly admirable.' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, The
Times Literary Supplement
'The book focuses on the thoughts and actions of policy makers,
pamphleteers, and foreign diplomats whose intrigues place
Portugal's fate very much in an international context.' Choice
'Paquette has provided us with an excellent narrative on the
Luso-Brazilian Atlantic relationship that greatly transcends the
narrow confine of the 1822 revolution. By weaving together Angolan,
Brazilian and Portuguese developments, he has written a complex
narrative of the southern Atlantic, which will speak to specialists
of the Lusophone world. In addition, this outstanding work should
also inform the reading of Atlantic Ocean experts and world
historians.' Rainer Buschmann, H-Empire
'… a specific gap in the historical literature … The period of
1770-1850 can be a complex and confusing epoch in the history of
Portugal and its empire, Paquette's work is an important read for
anyone aspiring to work on the subject in the ascribed
periodization.' Y. H. Teddy Sim, Bulletin for Spanish and
Portuguese Historical Studies
'Paquette's narrative and analysis [is] … the most perceptive since
the publication of the Manoel de Oliveira Lima's still
indispensable D. Joao VI no Brasil … Paquette reconstructs from a
new angle the familiar events of Brazilian independence.' Thomas M.
Cohen, The Americas
'… an impressive synthesis of secondary works … The book's major
contributions include Paquette's willingness to give conservative
and reactionary thinkers their due, to identify the long-term
connections between eighteenth-century imperial reform and
nineteenth century conservative thought, to elucidate complex
transatlantic political manoeuvring and to remind us of the
American empire's many legacies for later Portuguese history.'
Hendrik Kraay, Journal of Latin American Studies
'… this book is a most welcome addition to the historiography of
the Portuguese world. It confronts a phase in the history of that
world too long ignored and avoided by historians. Easily the best
account available on its subject, it is a considerable achievement
and deserves to be widely read.' Anthony Disney, American
Historical Review
'Paquette has little to say about the military dimension of the
independence process. Instead, he is interested in high politics
and has written a book of great value, based on a dazzling number
of published sources and research in thirty-four archives on both
sides of the Atlantic. His work is especially strong in its
discussion of the great variety of constitutional projects.' Wim
Klooster, Latin American Research Review
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