Coutinho, J.J. da Cunha de Azeredo

A Political Essay on the Commerce of Portugal and her Colonies, particularly of Brasil in South America. - FIRST ENGLISH EDITION [originally published as: Ensaio Economico Sobre o Commercio de Portugal e suas colonias]. Signed by John Pascoe FAWKNER

London: G. G. and J. Robinson, 1801. RARE first edition in English by an anonymous translator, 8vo, pp.(vi), (x), 198, errata leaf at end, two small ink stains and initials "G.S." in red ink to title page, 'literary institution' stamp of "Mount Korong Miner's Library" to dedicatee and contents pages, some water-staining to prelims only, uncut, several leaves short at outer margin, rebound in half calf, titled to spine, a very good copy of this rare edition with a presentation inscription to page 3: signed by John Pascoe FAWKNER, one of the early pioneers of Melbourne, and dated by him, "January 1857".

SIGNED by John Pascoe Fawkner as a presentation copy to the miner's institution library at Mount Korong at Wedderburn, a mining town in Victoria (Australia) where gold was first discovered in 1852. The Korong Miners' Institute was established in 1859, one of the first buildings in the region. Fawkner was an early Australian pioneer, business man and politician of Melbourne, Australia and a self proclaimed founder of Melbourne. After the opening of the goldfields of Victoria, Fawkner devoted much of his time to the legislative aspects of gold-mining problems. Coutinho (1742-1821), a native of Rio de Janeiro, was one of the most influential Brazilian writers of his time, a leading figure in the Brazilian Enlightenment, and "the greatest reactionary of his time" (Borba). He served as Archdeacon of Rio de Janeiro, Bishop of Pernambuco and Inquisitor General in Portugal and was a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Lisbon. This work originally published in 1794 under the title: Ensaio Economico Sobre o Commercio de Portugal e suas Colonias was one of the first of its kind to be printed in Portugal, and one of the first works to give details to the rest of Europe about the wealth of the Portuguese colonies. According to the preface of this English translation, (London 1801), the first edition in Portuguese went out of print almost immediately and was very difficult to find. A translation and further reprints in 1806, 1807 and 1808 no doubt relates to increased interest in the subject in Great Britain due to Napoleon's designs on the Iberian Peninsula and the fear that he would attempt to subjugate Spanish and Portuguese American colonies. The translator states that this edition (1801) was prepared in response to the peace treaty recently concluded between Portugal and Spain; the precarious nature of the settlement raised the possibility that England might take the Portuguese colonies under her protection. The treaty required that Portugal close all her harbours to the British. [Goldmsiths' 18242; Sabin 17950; Borba de Moraes p.230] 1801 edition NOT IN NLA. Item #91267

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