Before Brasília

Before Brasília offers an in-depth exploration of life in the captaincy of Goiás during the late colonial and early national period of Brazilian history. Karasch effectively counters the “decadence” narrative that has dominated the historiography of Goiás. She shifts the focus from the declining white elite to an expanding free population of color, basing her conclusions on sources previously unavailable to scholars that allow her to meaningfully analyze the impacts of geography and ethnography.