Arquivo Histórico do Itamaraty, Parte III—33—Comissões e Tribunals Mistos

As anyone who has had the pleasure of working in the Arquivo Histórico do Itamaraty can verify, that rich archive of the Foreign Ministry contains much more than diplomatic material. In order to make the contents better known and more accessible, the archive’s staff, under the capable leadership of its charming director Constanta Wright, has been preparing catalogs of its documents. This most recent one is a guide to the material found in section 33 of Part III, better known as the special collections. Section 33 concerns Comissões e Tribunals Mistos and is subdivided into (a) Tráfico de Negros e Bloqueios and (b) Guerra da Independência. In the first part, beyond indicating what material is available on the topics, the catalog itself gives considerable information about all the ships captured in the slave trade or in running blockades: name, nationality, owner, captain, port of embarkation, destination, where apprehended and by whom, and cargo. The second part indicates the documentary material available concerning the Brazilian-Portuguese mixed commission established to settle claims arising between the two nations as a result of Brazil’s declaration of independence. There is a good index, all illustrations, taken from the papers themselves, enliven the presentation. In short, the catalog is well done and informative, and along with the proceeding ones it will be a great help to the researcher in Brazilian history.