"De farinha, bendito seja Deus, estamos por agora muito bem": Uma história da mandioca em perspectiva atlântica

Abstract

This article does an inventory of references about the manioc starting from the colonial chronic, the travel literature and the administrative correspondence, aiming to analyze the forms of the indigenous knowledge related to the manioc planting and the flour production. With the appropriation of that knowledge and verification of the product's durability, I analyze the transatlantic importance of the plant and of the manioc flour to the Africans sustenance, slaves traveling across the Atlantic, and sailors in circulation around the world in the era of European navigations and even to the supply of the Portugal Kingdom's demands. The intention is go beyond the political, cultural and linguistic borders, demonstrating how the indigenous knowledge was a fundamental part of the Atlantic History, despite the restricted geographic circulation of that men and women in the seas.