História dos Índios no Brasil by Manuela Carneiro da Cunha

During the 17th and 18th centuries the Crown faced tensions, disputes, and contradictions in relation to the slavery and freedom of Indians and the way it solved these conflicts revealed the configuration of its indigenist policy. So Paulo, Companhia das Letras/SCM, 1992, pp.115-132 and also. In the process of colonization the Portuguese Crown was confronted by various forms of native resistance and by the differing interests of diverse colonial agents. perodo colonial in: Manuela Carneiro da Cunha (ed.), Histria dos ndios no Brasil. Os Mortos e os Outros (1978) Antropologia do Brasil: Mito, Histria e Etnicidade (1986) e Os Direitos do ndio (1987). Moreover, access to land and the use of indigenous labor could both constitute secure indicators of success in the conquest of Portuguese America. A war of extermination, often masquerading as a “just war,” and slavery became inseparable parts of colonial strategy. Edusp, Comisso Pr-ndio de So Paulo, So Paulo, 1992.

Yet, in highlighting the centrality of Indians in the settlement of the Portuguese colony in the Americas, it must also be recognized that the relations established there between Portuguese conquerors and native populations were also historically marked by tension and violence. For the twenty-fifth anniversary of the landmark edited volume, Historia dos ndios no Brasil, assembled by anthropologist Manuela Carneiro da Cunha, researchers and Indigenous people came together to reflect on the state of the field of Indigenous history in Brazil.

Their labor was indispensable in constructing the colony, and political alliances with native peoples ensured the success of the conquest at several crucial moments, and only with the aid of native knowledge it was possible to occupy the land and advance the conquest of the immense territory that became known as Brazil. The native populations of Portuguese America were essential for the implementation of the Portuguese colonial project.

História dos Índios no Brasil by Manuela Carneiro da Cunha