Empire Adrift by Patrick Wilcken
In 1807, at the height of the Napoleonic wars, the Portuguese prince regent Dom Joao made an extraordinary decision. Although horrified by the idea of sea travel, he opted to transplant his entire court and government to Portugal's largest colony, Brazil. With French troops closing in on Lisbon, aristocrats, ministers, priests and servants - a staggering 10,000 in all - clambered on board the rickety Portuguese fleet. After a rough transatlantic passage they spilled off their ships bedraggled, lice-ridden and dressed in rags, to the astonishment of their new world subjects. Thus began a unique 13-year period of imperial rule from the tropics. Rio de Janeiro was soon graced with a new opera house, lush botanical gardens and a royal palace - a 'tropical Versailles' set against the city's stunning jungle-clad mountains. But this metropolitan facade only partially obscured the brutal workings of what was then the largest slaving port in the Americas. While the court grappled with the dark side of its own empire, Brazil, with its eclectic mix of African, European and indigenous influences, was coming of age. Patrick Wilcken brings this remarkable period to the page, blending vivid contemporary testament with a rich evocation of the one time in history when European royalty went native.
Patrick Wilcken grew up in Sydney and studied at Goldsmiths College and the Institute of Latin American Studies in London. He has contributed Brazil-related reviews and features to the Times Literary Supplement and the Guardian. He has spent lengthy periods in Rio de Janeiro and now lives in Battersea, London. This is his first book.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780747556725 |
| ISBN 10 | 0747556725 |
| Title | Empire Adrift |
| Author | Patrick Wilcken |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Year published | 2004-09-06 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |