“The Path that Followed Civilization through the Centuries”: Friar Camillo de Monserrate and the Teaching of Ancient Geography at Colégio Pedro II (1850-1854)

ABSTRACT

Created on December 2, 1837, the Imperial Colégio Pedro II was the most important secondary education institution in 19th century Brazil. The institution formed part of the imperial literate elite and its curriculum expressed the prominence of a project of invention of national identity based on the notion of civilization and supported by an emphasis on the ancient world. In this sense, this article has as its scope the teaching of Ancient Geography thought by Professor Frei Camillo Monserrate at the Imperial College Pedro between 1850 and 1854. to the uses of antiquity in the secondary education curriculum in the construction of an ideal of civilization and the concerns about the construction of a balance of contents between Europe and America.

Keywords
Colégio Pedro II; Secondary Education; Friar Camillo de Monserrate; Ancient Geography; 19^th Century