Envisioning a “Whitened” Brazil: Photography and Slavery at the World’s Fairs, 1862–1889

Resumo

Between 1862 and 1889, the Brazilian elite perceived international exhibitions as an opportunity to promote and project an idealized image of the “modern nation”. By displaying commodities and agricultural products, as well as some manufactured artifacts, Brazil sought to attract foreign investment and immigrants. However, in contrast to its Spanish American competitors at the world’s fairs, many of Brazil’s exhibits derived from slave labor. To downplay this unpleasant reality before a critical international audience, the exhibition organizers used the “objective” medium of photography to depict their country as overwhelmingly European, focusing on the gradual process of “whitening” through immigration. In addition, a few carefully selected photographs of black people aimed to corroborate the “benevolent” nature of the Brazilian slavery system.