07/01/2008

Black or White - or neither?

While reading Carl Degler's Neither Black nor White and African-American Reflections on Brazil's Racial Paradise, organised by David J. Hellwig and kindly loaned to me by Barry Stinson, I've found that, in the early 20th century, many Americans mistakenly concluded that Brazil was a more favourable place for Blacks because this country has had at least two presidents whom they considered to be "Negroes". Here are their photographs:

Marshal Floriano Peixoto (1891-1894)

Nilo Peçanha (1906-1909)

The fact that these two former presidents might be considered "Black" would come as a complete surprise to most Brazilians - even today.

No comments: