History of the Construction of Brazil
Objectives
Students are expected to:
1. Identify the main phases of the Portuguese settlement and colonization of Brazil from the early sixteenth century until independence (1822);
2. Acquire an understanding of the history of colonial Brazil as the result of the dynamic interaction of political, economic and social conditions, in the context of the Portuguese empire;
3. Acquire knowledge of the most influential historiographical approaches of the studied subjects;
4. Be able to analyze and interpret historical documents and understand them in their historical context;
5. Improve ability to communicate orally and in writing, integrating the vocabulary and concepts specific to this subject area
General characterization
Code
711051109
Credits
6.0
Responsible teacher
Pedro António Albuquerque e Castro de Almeida Cardim
Hours
Weekly - 4
Total - 168
Teaching language
Portuguese
Prerequisites
None
Bibliography
- - Alencastro, Luís Filipe, O Trato dos Viventes. Formação do Brasil no Atlântico Sul, São Paulo, Companhia das Letras, 2000.
- - Bethell, L. (coord.), América Latina Colonial, vols. I e II da História da América Latina, São Paulo, Editora da Universidade de S. Paulo, 1998-1999.
- - Bettencourt, Francisco e Curto, Diogo Ramada (co-editor), The Portuguese Oceanic Expansion, 1400-1800, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
- - Couto, Jorge, A Construção do Brasil, Lisboa, Edições Cosmos, 1995.
- - Schwartz, Stuart B., Segredos internos. Engenhos e Escravos na Sociedade Colonial, São Paulo, 1985
Teaching method
Lectures play an important role in this course, though not exclusively. Students will be asked to engage actively during classes and encouraged to analyze and comment texts or other teaching resources. The teaching methods also include extensive use of computer media.
Evaluation method
Continuous assessment - The structure of marks and the nature of assignments is the following: two written tests (each one counts for 50% of the final grade); the oral participation of students will also be taken in account of the final grade.(100%)
Subject matter
1. The "continent" of Brazil: geographical structures. Indigenous societies.
2. The Portuguese settlement. The earliest forms of political and administrative framework.
3. The expansion of the frontier.
4. Economic structures. The sugar-cane cycle. Brazil in the economic network of the Atlantic.
5. The gold cycle. The changes in the pattern of colonization.
6. Society in colonial Brazil.
7. Imperial re-organization (1750-1808). Territorial changes; administrative reorganization; reorganization of the economy.
8. The end of colonial rule.