Abstract
This paper aims to identify the regional political motivations intertwined in the creation of the ideal of “Brazilianness” (brasilidade), as well as to map the varied appropriations of scientific, political, and historiographical perceptions that were in fashion by the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. To do so, the paper analyzes the intellectual and the historiographic production of Nelson Coelho de Senna (1876-1952). Even though Senna’s name is less known nowadays, being considered as a “minor author”, he accomplished systematic studies on miscegenation and on the contribution that Afro-Brazilians, Indigenous-Brazilians, and Europeans gave to the language, culture, and Brazilian history, building on works of canonical authors as Silvio Romero, Capistrano de Abreu, and João Ribeiro. As a particular contribution to the debates, Senna studied those topics regarding Brazilian history from the perspective of the state of Minas Gerais, his “Nation”.
Keywords:
Brazilian historiography; Minas Gerais; Nelson de Senna; Brazilianness; miscegenation