Recriated heritages: specificities of the Brazilian Empire's formation

Abstract

This paper discusses some of the statements presented by Ilmar R. de Mattos in his article "Builders and Heirs". The author aims to emphasize the originality of Mattos's contributions for a better understanding of the Empire's specificities during the first half of the 19th century, mainly his argument of an "inland expansion". It focuses also, through the analyses of political discourses and memoirs, on the relations between the Empire's colonial past, interpreted as a heritage, and its future as a national project.