The circulation of the first handwritten and printed masonic rites in Brazil (1810-1836)

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of the production and circulation of the first masonic rites in Brazil. Initially, by means of heavily copied manuscripts or clandestinely printed pamphets brought into Portuguese America, Masonic rites circulated among freemasons, starting in the northern captaincies, especially in Bahia and Pernambuco, at the time when the first Masonic lodges established political influence (1810- 1820). With the introduction of printing presses in Brazil, these rites began to be printed in the Rio de Janeiro, maintaining their production and circulation restricted during the Primeiro Reinado (1822), but becoming more accessible to the public with the expansion of printing propelled by a new generation of printers in the Regency period (1831-1840).