2009 Articles

A Boundless Space: The Amazon and the Building of the Brazilian Empire

Sánchez Román, José Antonio

Businessmen, military, politicians, intellectuals and other members of Brazilian elites have perceived the Amazon region not only as a possible source of natural resources but also as a threat to the building of the state and the territorial existence of the nation. This perception originated in the mid-nineteenth century and still survives today, even beyond elite's circles. This papers deals with the reasons for this anxiety about the Amazon and the different forms that these fears adopted.