In the Luso-Brazilian world, the second half of the eighteenth century was a period of sweeping reorientations – of new leaders, new ideas of political economy, and a changing international context that forced Portuguese on both sides of the Atlantic to reconsider the traditional relationship between the metropolis and its principal colony, Brazil. Changes in political organization and eventually in political expectations, reforms in fiscal and economic life, and a growing colonial population all contributed to modifications of the colonial relationship, and these in turn altered the positions and interests of groups, classes, and factions in Brazil. But although reorientation and changes were undeniable, to some extent they tended to reinforce and intensify essential features of Brazil's society and economy. Despite innovation, growth, and increasing political maturity, by 1808 Brazil remained a supplier of tropical crops (although some of them were new to the colony) produced by the sweat of slaves. That basic fact was reflected at every level of society, and it set the boundaries of expectation and the horizons of hope.

Tracing the reorientations of this era would amount to writing a broad history of Portugal and Brazil from 1750 to 1830, a task beyond the scope of this volume.