The Cartography of the Brazilian Empire

Abstract

This paper covers a small section of the historical research on the Cartography and Geodesy of Brazil which is undertaken by GeoCart, the Laboratory of Cartography of the Department of Geography at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The main theme of this paper is the various mapping projects which were developed up to 1822 by the commissions which were appointed to organize the cartography of the Brazilian Empire and of the Rio de Janeiro State, including the Neutral Municipal district of Rio de Janeiro. It was considered necessary to also investigate all of the early initiatives which gave rise to the mapping systems used in the eighteenth century before Brazil became independent from Portugal.

After introducing the early attempts at accurate cartography, the cartographic organization of the Empire of Brazil, albeit without geodetic support, is discussed. The next topic is the 1862 Commission for the General Map of the Brazilian Empire, which was appointed to establish a scientific geodetic system and develop an orderly systematic mapping programme. The main personalities involved during the existence of the Commission, as well as their characteristics and the actions they took, are also presented. To conclude, two major attempts to execute a precise geodetic triangulation network are discussed, the first, which took place in the Rio Grande do Sul State on the Uruguay border, and the second, in the Neutral Municipal District of Rio de Janeiro. Both supported the initial development of the Brazilian geodetic triangulation network.