author
James Henderson
d. 1848
Known for vivid early 19th-century writing on Brazil, this British traveler and author combined firsthand observation with a wide-ranging account of the country's geography, trade, and society.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born around 1783, probably in Cumberland or Westmoreland, he became a British traveler, diplomat, and author with a strong interest in South America. He sailed to Rio de Janeiro in 1819 and later traveled widely in Brazil, experiences that shaped the books he is remembered for.
His best-known work is A History of the Brazil, a substantial study of the country's landscape, commerce, colonial past, and people. Contemporary reference works describe him as a writer on Brazil, and archival records also identify him as both a diplomat and an author.
He died in Madrid on September 18, 1848. Although not widely read today, his work remains a useful historical window into how Brazil was observed and described by a British visitor in the early 1800s.