No introduction is required for the História Geral series begun by Sérgio Buarque de Holanda in 1960. The volume at hand (the eighth) covers the Old Republic and stresses political and economic structures. What is new is the general editor, Boris Fausto, and this volume’s interdisciplinary character. The current editor disclaims any desire to present cut-and-dried historical interpretations, much less grand theories about the era. Rather he strives for didacticism of a positive sort: illumination of crucial moments and processes which will stimulate thought and knowledge. At the same time he attempts to provide a sampling of the quality research now available. The volume lives up to those goals admirably.
The twelve separate contributions represent work by a variety of well-known social scientists, particularly historians committed to innovative methods and social theories. No single approach predominates, because many of the chapters were written independently and at different times. Neither is there any attempt to be comprehensive nor to join the essays together with narrative transitions.
The volume is divided into two sections, the first of which deals with political structures. The main subjects are the emergence of the política dos governadores in the 1890s, regionalism, and coronelismo. The section might have been stronger with a “view from the top” on how politics operated at the presidential level. The second section, which is considerably longer, treats financial and economic aspects of the Old Republic. Major topics are the export systems for coffee, sugar, and rubber, as well as industrialization. An essay by Paul Singer places Brazil in the context of international capitalism.
HAHR readers will be interested to know that four of the twelve contributors are U.S. scholars, whose chapters cover regionalism (John D. Wirth, Joseph L. Love, Robert M. Levine) and industrialization (Warren Dean). Inclusion of their work indicates continued rapport between researchers in the two countries.
As in the rest of the series, the bibliography will appear in the last volume on the Old Republic, hence only footnote references are provided. Some fine photographs from the period illustrate the text. The publishers promise completion of the series in a short time.
As Boris Fausto says, these studies represent a great advance over what was available in the mid-1960s, but much remains to be done. This volume stands as a valuable collection of current research and a fine didactic tool.
