New world in the Tropics: The culture of modern Brazil

by Gilberto Freyre

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

285 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Gilberto de Mello Freyre (Melo Freire, in the standard orthography; Mello Freyre is archaic and proscribed by law; March 15, 1900 – July 18, 1987) was a Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer and congressman. His best-known work is a sociological treatise named Casa-Grande & Senzala (variously translated, but roughly The Masters and the Slaves, as on a traditional plantation). Two sequels followed, The Mansions and the Shanties: the making of modern Brazil and Order and Progress: Brazil from monarchy to republic. The trilogy is generally considered a classic of modern cultural anthropology and social history, although it is not without its critics.

Reviews

[Bob Newman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mad Fad=Pretty Bad

*Easy to read
*You might learn a bit---by osmosis---about Brazilian history
*Full of outmoded, 19th century ideas about race even if the author rejects some of them. He still considers them. Most of us have moved on. “Racial purity” is not something I even want to read about. Such stuff, to me, is merely insulting and smacks of those fascist ideas of white superiority.
*Puts forth a cockeyed theory about a “Brazilian, tropical civilization” which is extremely romantic, but has not held up at all since it was put together sixty years ago.
*These chapters appear to have been written separately, then put together as a book. As a result a lot of facts and ideas are repeated.
*In his plea that Brazil was different, Freyre ignores the fact that slavery is slavery. There isn’t any “good” slavery. If the races mixed in Brazil, as they did, there remained a strong prejudice against people of color. See statements by new “president” Bolsonaro.
*You will find an extremely naïve view of Soviet Russia where official policy on race was not mirrored in practice.
*NWITT is neither anthropology nor history. Maybe you can call it primitive sociology. Brazil went through a “tropicalismo” period in music, art, and film, but it was more or less of a fad, not part of solid Brazilian culture. Freyre is passé.

Conclusion: If you want to understand Brazil, you don’t need this book. I have not discussed the ideas found within because I don’t want to dignify them with a review.

[Fernando Ferreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gilberto Fryre mostra, com seu brilhantismo e argúcia habituais, que o Brasil não pode ser tido como uma civilização européia ou sub-européia implantada nos trópicos. É um sociedade que, confrontada com o desafio imposto pelo ambiente, adaptou inteligentemente os valores, características e técnicas européias aos trópicos, amalgamando-os com outros valores: ameríndios, africanos e até mesmo mouros (orientais). Mas esse amálgama de diversas contribuições técnico-culturais que adaptam a civilização às condições de vida tropical não é uma criação totalmente original dos brasileiros. Em grande medida, foram os portugueses que, na sua aventura colonial nos trópicos, tanto na América, quanto na África e Sudeste Asiático, foram plásticos o suficiente para incorporarem com vantagem características culturais que permitiram a construção de sociedades que, adaptadas às condições do ambiente, não podem ser tidas como sub-européias, mas sim como extra-européias. O Brasil não é a continuação da Europa nos trópicos, mas de fato um "novo mundo", eis que combina habilmente elementos os mais diversos de diversas civilizações (européia, africana, oriental, etc.) em prol do desenvolvimento de uma sociedade plenamente adaptada à vida na região dos trópicos.

[Cicero Marra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Não deixa de ser comovente e chega até a ser irritante o otimismo de Gilberto Freyre com o Brasil.