general histories

Sérgio Buarque de Holanda (ed.), História geral da civilização brasileira, I: A época colonial, 2 vols. (São Paulo, 1960) provides a succinct survey of major themes. Pedro Calmon, História do Brasil, 7 vols. (Rio de Janeiro, 1959) has the most detailed colonial sections of the many modern histories. The classic História geral do Brasil, 5 vols. 9th ed. (São Paulo, 1975), by Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen, originally published in 1857, is still valuable. Together, C. R. Boxer’s Salvador de S´ and the Struggle for Brazil and Angola, 1602–1686 (London, 1952) and his The Golden Age of Brazil, 1695–1750 (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964) provide the best available overview in English of Brazilian history for the period. Frédéric Mauro, Le Brésil du XVe à la fin du XVIIIe sièle (Paris, 1977) is a brief survey based on solid scholarship. Dauril Alden (ed.), Colonial Roots of Modern Brazil (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1973) presents an important collection of papers on colonial themes. A. J. R. Russell-Wood (ed.), From Colony to Nation (Baltimore, 1975), is primarily concerned with the post-1750 period but does have a number of articles pertinent to the earlier era. The Anais do Congresso Comemorativo do Bicenten´rio da Transferência da Sede do Governo do Brasil, 4 vols. (Rio de Janeiro, 1966), contains many items of interest, as do the various publications of the Luso-Brazilian Colloquium (first Proceedings or Adas published in Nashville, Tenn., 1953). In the past decade many classic chronicles and important documents have been reprinted or published for the first time.