L'Amérique Méridionale: The Map That Shaped Brazil in the 18th Century - (Mapping the Past) by Junia Ferreira Furtado (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book is centered on how the cartography of the Americas produced by the French cartographer J.B.B. d'Anville and the Portuguese diplomat D. Luis da Cunha in the 18th century inspired and influenced Brazil's modern-day borders.

Book Synopsis

This book explores how the origins of Brazil's modern borders can be traced to the cartography of the Americas produced by the eighteenth-century French cartographer J.B.B. d'Anville. It argues that this map reflects the geopolitical policies of the Portuguese diplomat D. Luis da Cunha, who was involved in Portugal's negotiations with the Spanish to formally establish Brazil's frontiers, and highlights how and why these policies were adopted in the Treaty of Madrid in 1750.

Review Quotes

"The author's conclusions are based on exhaustive research, as evidenced by the volume's impressive bibliography, featuring primary and secondary sources written in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Latin, and French. (...) The text is enriched by numerous illustrations (...). This comprehensive approach enables Furtado to demonstrate convincingly how the evolution of geopolitical thought and changing cartographic conventions developed symbiotically over the course of the eighteenth century. L'Amérique Méridionale is a worthy addition to Brill's Mapping the Past series." - Judy Bieber, in: Imago Mundi 77:2 (2025), p. 230.

About the Author

Junia Ferreira Furtado, Ph.D. (1996), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, is Professor at that university. She has written many articles, and chapters in the History of Cartography, including Quebra Cabeça africano (Odisseia, 2021).