Customer Reviews

Empire Adrift

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3 star:		(1)
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This is one of the few books that grabbed my attention. It was hard to interrupt. I usually read 15 min inside the metro and then transfer to a bus where I hate to read but couldn't stop! The author had access to many important and rare documents, and he appears very balanced in quoting his sources under a broader perspective and accessing the credibility of each. This is specially so of Lord Strangford. For me, a double citizen of Brazil and Portugal, the book was extremely instructive. The story is brilliantly told, captivating. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

This book is not only a great history book but also entertaining and easy to read. The author is able to provide a broad context so we can understand how Brazilian, Portuguese, French and English people interacted and shaped Brazilian history. It is really well written and I highly recommend it!

This is a lively narrative of the relocation of the Portuguese court from Portugal to Brazil at the time of the Napoleonic invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. The Portuguese court moved to Brazil, Portugal's largest colony, in 1807, with 10,000 people, from ministers and clergy to servants. In Brazil, Rio was going to be the new capital of Portugal and its Empire. In this book you will meet a gallery of striking characters, the Prince Regent, Queen Maria, Dona Carlota, and others. Dom Pedro, the heir to the throne, displays a rather shocking behaviour. Well-researched history and a vivid narrative combine to make this an impressive work. You may remember this book for ever.

Did you know the Portuguese Royal Court all up-sticked and headed for Rio during the Napoleonic Wars? This explains the why's and how's. A good read, describing the growth of Rio - as well as the duplicitous role of Britain. This may have been where Britain first began to influence latin American internal politics through the back door.......