Tantas árvores, tantos mundos: Histórias conectadas e circulação de pau-brasil no período filipino (1580-1640).

Abstract

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest after 1500 was the stage of an environmental crisis that went beyond the dense forest and reached us through official documentation. In this plot, man and nature play a leading role in different relationships – of destruction, but also of planning and conservation. The tree symbol of the nation, it is also the tree that represents the widely disseminated destruction of our forests. Therefore, the present work dialogues with the research areas of Environmental History, Science and the Transit of Plants. Primarily inspired by the "connected histories" approach, from the Indian historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam, but also from Serge Gruzinski's reflections, we analyze the webs and historical connections made through the cutting, shipping and trade of brazilwood, with the objective of understanding the different socio-environmental relationships between different ethnic groups. Therefore, we reflect on the concepts of landscape, transit of plants and imperial connections from the perspective of Simon Schama, Lorelai Kury and João Fragoso, respectively. Furthermore, throughout the chapters, we approach topics such as the role of brazilwood in different areas of studies, the theme of brazilwood in brazilian historiography, and the relation between nature and society. Lastly, we consider that there is more than sap in sapwood, and brazilin in the core of brazilwood – there is history(ies). They are stories that represent dialogues; dialogues that often intensify human history itself.