This article investigates the circumstances leading to Brazil being awarded the first prize at the XIV International Conference on Demography and Hygiene, held in Berlin in 1907. An examination of the unpublished correspondence between Henrique da Rocha Lima and Oswaldo Cruz prior to the conference/exhibition reveals the peculiarities of a Brazilian-style event, where the outcome seems to be determined by haphazard incidents rather than by meticulously planned strategies. Their letters can also be read as a narrative celebrating individual qualities, as they attribute the victory in Berlin much more to Rocha Lima's than Oswaldo Cruz's personal merits. In the light of Raízes do Brasil, a classic by Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, this article also addresses the issue regarding the dispute between the Iberian and Anglo-Saxon worlds over the Brazilian victory.
Oswaldo Cruz; Henrique da Rocha Lima; Manguinhos; science and technology studies and the Third World; history and sociology of science