The classic age of British economic imperialism (1850-1914) spanned the years between Britain’s initiation of capital exports and the dislocations of the First World War. The period covered in Richard Graham’s book coincides with those halcyon years of British imperialism, and the work is a study in imperial relationships from the “receiving” side. The central theses are 1) that the economic and social transformation of Brazil did not begin in 1930 or 1914, or even 1889, but rather about 1850; and 2) that British investments, personnel, fashions, and ideas played a key role in this process.
Between 1850 and 1914 Brazilian exports expanded at an unprecedented pace. Railroads extended coffee culture into the interior of São Paulo, and banking operations mushroomed to finance the export economy. The British often dominated both of these areas; by 1913 they had invested £223.9 million in Brazil, mostly in banking, commerce, and transportation. Furthermore, Brazilian entrepreneurs continually cited British business practice as a model and frequently obtained capital from British sources.
In addition to economic influence Graham studies the impact of British culture as a modernizing force in Brazil. At the ideological level he argues that the Brazilian elite after 1850 tended to adopt a peculiarly British version of liberalism, despite the well-known French bias of Positivists and Republicans during the imperial era. Graham makes an important contribution in examining the Brazilian reception of Herbert Spencer’s thought, a topic generally slighted because of Comte’s influence. Such diverse figures as Alberto Sales, Silvio Romero, and Joaquim Murtinho chose Spencer over Comte in their search for an explanation of national historical development.
As he scrutinizes the mighty British presence in Brazil, Graham seeks to present a balanced view by pointing out its negative features. For example, Britain and her bankers restricted the autonomy of the Brazilian government and emphasized agricultural exports over industry. Furthermore, British arguments for free trade strengthened the ideological position of the planters against industrialists. Yet these drawbacks tend to appear in the summary statements rather than in the body of each chapter, where Graham details the advantages of British influence.
Britain and the Onset of Modernization is the product of extensive research in both British and Brazilian archival sources. Although its scholarly thoroughness does not allow the author to demonstrate conclusively that modernization began in 1850, he does show that students of change have been shortsighted in assuming that the revolution of 1930 is the obvious point of departure.
The one important area in which the book appears deficient is its theoretical assumptions. Brazil is viewed as “moving along a spectrum [from] ‘traditional’ society [to] a ‘modern’ one.” In this modernization continuum, presumably based on Parsonian pattern variables, Graham puts forth the notion of a momentum of change— “modernization would continue [after 1914] even if their [the Britons’] influence were entirely removed” (p. 299). Only in a brief passage in the conclusion does he qualify the “momentum” thesis by suggesting that a “sound barrier” of social reckoning may yet stand between Brazil and unfettered development. The book’s theoretical infrastructure would have been improved by taking into account recent sociological theory which argues that breakdown and stagnation are real possibilities in the development process (e.g., works by Barrington Moore and S. N. Eisenstadt). If this is the case, the “momentum” approach may be invalid, and the periodization issue becomes less important, since the “onset” of modernization may only lead to an arrested stage of development.
The slim volume by Richard P. Momsen, Jr., is an introduction to contemporary Brazil and emphasizes cultural and physical geography rather than history. A description of Brazil’s regions comprises the bulk of the book. The Amazon valley receives the most original treatment, and the author deals with pepper cultivation and Japanese immigration in addition to such standard fare as the rubber boom. Analyzing regional imbalance, Momsen even suggests that Brazil may suffer from “internal neo-colonialism,” though he remains mute on the external variety. The regional discussions incidentally touch on economic history, but historical development from 1500 to the present covers only twenty pages.
The author shares the boundless optimism of some Brazilian writers about the country’s future, a viewpoint which seems unjustified in the light of events since 1961. The assertion that “Brazil is becoming a model for emergent nations” (p. 133) appears wholly unfounded.
