Mapping South American Promises: Potosí, Brazil, and European Visions by Doré, Andréa;

Short description:

Based on maps, cosmographies, and travel accounts, this book explores a period when South America was called Peruana. The main attraction on the continent was the Potosí mountain, which influenced not only the description of the lands, but also exploration projects in Brazil.

Long description:

“Nomen est omen”. A name is a prophecy, a destiny, or even a promise. Why was South America once referred to as Peru, “Peruana”, or “América Peruana”? What role did the Potosí Mountain play in shaping these designations? And how did these perceptions affect the lands of Brazil? This book offers new insights into these questions, exploring both the continuities and the shifts in European representations of South America. It reveals how, in the first two centuries of its history, Brazil compensated for the scarcity of gold and silver with brazilwood, sugar, the labor and souls of its indigenous peoples, the toil of enslaved Africans, and its geography.

Table of Contents:

Contents

Preface to the English Language Edition

Acknowledgments

List of Figures



Introduction

Part 1: Describing a Continent Called Peruana

Part 2: From Mirage to Mines