“Historian Mary Karasch, author of the award-winning Slave Life in Rio de Janeiro, 1808–1850, has published a new book on the history of central Brazil that promises to be as influential as her first work. . . . Thoroughly researched, well-documented, and clearly written.”—Mariana C. Françozo, The Americas
“Mary Karasch has a knack for writing landmark books. . . . Historians of Brazil’s interior will rely on [Before Brasília] for years to come.”—Journal of Latin American Studies
“A work of superb scholarship that illuminates an area of Brazil and of Brazilian historiography too long neglected. Anyone interested in late colonial / early empire Brazil will find it fascinating.”—David McCreery, author of Frontier Goiás, 1822–1889
“In this long-awaited book, Mary Karasch provides a comprehensive history of Goiás in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Extensive archival research allows her to describe the major indigenous groups, the nature of conquest society, the first prospectors and their gold fields, the key roles played by royal officials and the church, and the lives of slaves, the free poor, and women.”—Alida C. Metcalf, author of Go-Betweens and the Colonization of Brazil, 1500–1600
