Kenneth Maxwell holds the Nelson and David Rockefeller Chair in Inter-American Studies at the Council of Foriegn Relations. He has taught at Yale, Princeton and Columbia Universities and the University of Kansas. Dr. Maxwell's recent books include Naked Tropics: Essays on Empire andOther Rogues (2003), The Making of Portuguese Democracy (1995) and Pombal: Paradox of the Enlightenment (1995).

"This brilliant monograph has long reigned as the premier treatment on the origins of Brazilian independence. It has no equal and richly deserves a new readership." -- Thomas Skidmore, Brown University"This attractive edition should make the Luso-Brazilian world of the late eighteenth century more accessible to English-language readers, especially those interested in the empires of the Atlantic World." --Mary Karash, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan

• Foreword Preface Acknowledgements AbbreviationsGlossary 1: Dispositions Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo - the Luso-Brazilian commercial system - the British Factory - free traders and contrabandists - new measures - opposition - privileged trading companies - nationalization- Jesuits - the chosen collaborators. 2: Change The international situation - fears of British power - the development of the northeast - reforms - the juntas da fazenda - economic crisis - the contraction of British trade - industrial development - the privileged established interests. 3: Divergence Growing tensions - laxity in Minas Gerais - the Diamond District - the contracts - the fall of Pombal - extinction of the companies- debilitation of the role of the Royal Treasury - nobles and businessmen- neo-mercantilism - subversion. 4: Confrontation Minas Gerais - the regional economy - society - the élite - distinctive solutions - patronage disputes - alienation- Melo e Castro - a classical conflict. 5: Conspiracy The tactics of revolt - the activists - the ideologues - the financial interests - the program - disagreements - nativism - social conservatism - the plot. 6: Skulduggery The suspension of the derrama - the coalition in disarray - loyalists - arrest in Rio de Janiero - the devassas - the death of Cláudio Manuel da Costa - Manitti - the viceroy and the governor - the contractors escape incrimination. 7: Crisis The records in Lisbon - the British - diplomatic successes - Melo e Castro - the alçada - the scapegoat - dangerous sleeping dogs - the sentence - the hanging of Tiradentes - a double failure. 8: Compromise Dom Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho - proposals for reform - a federative empire - dearth and prosperity- the Bahian mulattoes - opposition - the choice - the dénouement. Maps Statistical Appendix Bibliography Index