Race, State, and Armed Forces in Independence-Era Brazil: Bahia, 1790s-1840s (review)
Armies not only played a critical role in the wars of independence in Latin America, but also had a great impact upon the political structure of post-independence republics. Yet, since Brazil took a different path to nationhood than did its Spanish American neighbors, there has been a lack of serious studies on the transformation of a colonial Portuguese establishment into a national institution. Hendrik Kraay's path-breaking work on the Bahian military has repaired this deficiency.