Territorial integrity and the nation's cohesion are often referred to as distinctive Brazilian features within the wider Latin American independence context. However, it can be argued that this historiographical approach, based on the premises of homogeneity of time, population and geography, silences the histories of several societies that coexisted in synchronicity with, but were not subjugated to, the newly independent Brazilian state. This article focuses on such peoples who were independent at the moment of Brazilian independence, and for whom, contrary to a symbol of emancipation, the independence process meant the mere continuation of the colonial project itself, namely, the quest to ?civilise?.; Territorial integrity and the nation's cohesion are often referred to as distinctive Brazilian features within the wider Latin American independence context. However, it can be argued that this historiographical approach, based on the premises of homogeneity of time, population and geography, silences the histories of several societies that coexisted in synchronicity with, but were not subjugated to, the newly independent Brazilian state. This article focuses on such peoples who were independent at the moment of Brazilian independence, and for whom, contrary to a symbol of emancipation, the independence process meant the mere continuation of the colonial project itself, namely, the quest to 'civilise'.
