Life In Brazil

Life In Brazil by Thomas Ewbank is a travelogue and ethnographic account of Rio de Janeiro and its environs, blending imperial ceremony, Catholic ritual, natural wonders, and a harsh critique of slavery. The narrator, a discerning observer, moves among shrines, courts, and public processions, amid landscapes such as Corcovado and the Cariocó Aqueduct, while recording hospital philanthropy at Misericordia and the social life of enslaved people. Through episodes on the Apollonia feast, the Meeting of Isabel and Our Lady, imperial ceremonies, and sermons by ecclesiastical figures, the work interrogates the relationship between religion, power, and commerce. It juxtaposes artistic and architectural splendor with social injustice, offering pointed commentary on church-state entanglements, colonial memory, and the limits of reform within an emerging Brazilian empire. The travelogue also voice-prints a broader reflection on Brazilian libraries, scholarship, and public life, situating personal travel within the larger arc of 19th-century Brazilian history. Read more