BNDigital

 

There are some twenty accounts of Brazil by Irish authors, from the detailed description of Rio de Janeiro by John White, chief surgeon on the “First Fleet” to Australia, in the late 18th century, to the Amazon journals of Roger Casement, in the early 20^th century.

In 19th century Brazil, in particular, the following authors are worthy of note:

Robert Walsh (1772-1852), born in Waterford, was Anglican chaplain to the British mission in Rio de Janeiro for eight months (September 1828-May 1829). His book, Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1829 (2 vols., 1830) is one of the most interesting accounts of the country in the years following its independence from Portugal. It also investigates the 1828 insurrection of Irish and German mercenaries.

William Scully (1821-1885), born in County Tipperary, was proprietor and editor of the weekly Anglo-Brazilian Times for almost twenty years (1865-1884). His book, Brazil, Its Provinces and Chief Cities (1866, 2nd ed. 1868) is essentially a prospectus for investors and a guidebook for British and Irish emigrants to Brazil.

Michael Mulhall (1836-1900), born in Dublin, was co-founder in 1861 and co-editor of the Buenos Ayres Standard, the first English-language daily newspaper published in South America. He wrote two books following visits to Brazil: Rio Grande Do Sul and Its German Colonies (1873) and Journey to Matto Grosso (1879). He also published (with his brother Edward T. Mulhall) Handbook of Brazil (1877), a province by province guide aimed at investors and others with commercial interests in Brazil.

Marion M. Mulhall, née Murphey (1847-1922), born in Balbriggan, north of Dublin, accompanied her husband on both his visits to Brazil. She was the author of From Europe to Paraguay and Matto-Grosso (1877) and Between the Amazon and the Andes (1881). Her description of Rio Grande do Sul includes observations concerning German, Irish and Welsh immigrants in that province.