author

James Henderson

d. 1848

Known for an early English-language history of Brazil, this British writer and diplomat drew on firsthand travel to bring the country’s geography, trade, and society to readers back home.

1 Audiobook

A history of the Brazil : comprising its geography, commerce, colonization, aboriginal inhabitants, &c. &c. &c.

A history of the Brazil : comprising its geography, commerce, colonization, aboriginal inhabitants, &c. &c. &c.

by James Henderson

About the author

Born around 1783, James Henderson was a British diplomat and author associated with Cumberland or Westmoreland. He traveled to Rio de Janeiro in 1819 and later published writing shaped by his experiences in Brazil.

He is best known for A History of the Brazil, a substantial early 19th-century work on the country’s geography, commerce, colonization, and people. Archival and reference sources describe him as both a diplomat and an author, and place his life at about 1783 to 1848.

Because surviving online sources about him are fairly limited, many personal details remain unclear. What does stand out is his role as one of the English-language writers who helped introduce Brazil to British readers in the decades after independence.