Stringing Together a Nation

Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon and the Construction of a Modern Brazil, 1906–1930

Nonfiction, History, Americas, South America
Cover of the book Stringing Together a Nation by Todd A. Diacon, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Todd A. Diacon ISBN: 9780822385479
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: February 4, 2004
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Todd A. Diacon
ISBN: 9780822385479
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: February 4, 2004
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

Focusing on one of the most fascinating and debated figures in the history of modern Brazil, Stringing Together a Nation is the first full-length study of the life and career of Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon (1865–1958) to be published in English. In the early twentieth century, Rondon, a military engineer, led what became known as the Rondon Commission in a massive undertaking: the building of telegraph lines and roads connecting Brazil’s vast interior with its coast. Todd A. Diacon describes how, in stringing together a nation with telegraph wire, Rondon attempted to create a unified community of “Brazilians” from a population whose loyalties and identities were much more local and regional in scope. He reveals the work of the Rondon Commission as a crucial exemplar of the issues and intricacies involved in the expansion of central state authority in Brazil and in the construction of a particular kind of Brazilian nation.

Using an impressive array of archival and documentary sources, Diacon chronicles the Rondon Commission’s arduous construction of telegraph lines across more than eight hundred miles of the Amazon Basin; its exploration, surveying, and mapping of vast areas of northwest Brazil; and its implementation of policies governing relations between the Brazilian state and indigenous groups. He considers the importance of Positivist philosophy to Rondon’s thought, and he highlights the Rondon Commission’s significant public relations work on behalf of nation-building efforts. He reflects on the discussions—both contemporaneous and historiographical—that have made Rondon such a fundamental and controversial figure in Brazilian cultural history.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Focusing on one of the most fascinating and debated figures in the history of modern Brazil, Stringing Together a Nation is the first full-length study of the life and career of Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon (1865–1958) to be published in English. In the early twentieth century, Rondon, a military engineer, led what became known as the Rondon Commission in a massive undertaking: the building of telegraph lines and roads connecting Brazil’s vast interior with its coast. Todd A. Diacon describes how, in stringing together a nation with telegraph wire, Rondon attempted to create a unified community of “Brazilians” from a population whose loyalties and identities were much more local and regional in scope. He reveals the work of the Rondon Commission as a crucial exemplar of the issues and intricacies involved in the expansion of central state authority in Brazil and in the construction of a particular kind of Brazilian nation.

Using an impressive array of archival and documentary sources, Diacon chronicles the Rondon Commission’s arduous construction of telegraph lines across more than eight hundred miles of the Amazon Basin; its exploration, surveying, and mapping of vast areas of northwest Brazil; and its implementation of policies governing relations between the Brazilian state and indigenous groups. He considers the importance of Positivist philosophy to Rondon’s thought, and he highlights the Rondon Commission’s significant public relations work on behalf of nation-building efforts. He reflects on the discussions—both contemporaneous and historiographical—that have made Rondon such a fundamental and controversial figure in Brazilian cultural history.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book The Value of Comparison by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Liberalization's Children by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Revolutionary Women in Postrevolutionary Mexico by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Signs of Borges by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book A Primer for Teaching Environmental History by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Catastrophic Coastal Storms by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Revisionary Interventions into the Americanist Canon by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book A Year at the Supreme Court by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Dalit Studies by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book All Is True by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Muslims in Central Asia by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Gender and Personality by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Buena Vista in the Club by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book Saving the Security State by Todd A. Diacon
Cover of the book The Left Unraveled by Todd A. Diacon
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy