Hipólito da Costa, the Correio Braziliense and the dissemination of the Enlightenment in Brazil

This chapter deals with the career and journalist activities of Hipolito da Costa. It examines how his political ideas and the very format of his review, the Correio Braziliense (1808-1822), were largely influenced by his London exile experience. Hipolito da Costa was a British-style constitutional monarchist who made use of the press to spread his liberal ideas to a Portuguese readership. He adapted the format of the English review of his time to found the first Portuguese-language political exile paper and give expression to the plans he had for Brazil. In the Correio Braziliense he strongly criticised the colonial system, defended greater autonomy for Brazil and openly conducted a campaign for the independence of the Hispanic-American colonies. This chapter argues that his political views located him on the London-based Latin American political spectrum and made him a key player in the Latin American transnational anti-colonialist and nationalist debates.