Empires and Exploration - (Pitt Latin American) by Marshall C Eakin (Hardcover)

About the Book

A study of the explorations of Richard Francis Burton across Brazil in the 1860s and what they tell us about the complex origins of the Brazilian nation-state.

Book Synopsis

Empires and Explorations interweaves nineteenth-century Brazilian history, the extraordinary life of Richard Francis Burton, and the use of travel writing by historians. Burton witnessed the origins of the early processes of nation-building in Brazil including the power and influence of Great Britain on a monarchy that had ruled an independent Brazil since the 1820s laying the foundations for the physical integration of the nation, an economy based on coffee and slave labor, the construction of national myths, and very hesitant steps toward electoral, representative politics. A seasoned explorer of South Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and Africa, Burton provided us with a panoramic view of Brazil in mid-century. He highlighted the obstacles created by region, race, class, religion, and culture in late nineteenth-century Brazil and offered his advice on how to build a nation from the perspective of an iconoclastic Victorian Englishman. Eakin follows Burton's path and reflects on how the landscape, character, and identity of Brazil have evolved.

Review Quotes

Empires and Exploration is ably written and highly readable--a real tour de force and demonstration of the author's erudition and love of Brazil. This book is an important contribution to scholarship as well as a thoughtful memoir and reflection about recent changes in Brazil.--Hendrik Kraay, University of Calgary

About the Author

Marshall C. Eakin is Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at Vanderbilt University where he taught from 1983 to 2024. A specialist in modern Brazilian history, he is the author of six books including The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures and Becoming Brazilians: Race and National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil. From 2004-2011 he served as the Executive Director of the Brazilian Studies Association. In June and July 2022, he spent six weeks retracing Richard Burton's travels across eastern Brazil.