While some authors defend the existence of a widespread economic crisis in Brazil during the 18th century, motivated by the fall in the extraction of precious metals, others suggest that the colonial economy maintained a positive performance thanks to the growth of its domestic market. The main goal of this article is to challenge these two explanations, showing that different rhythms of development characterised Brazil's economy in each of its regions. We show that between the 1750s and 1790s, the Amazon region (Maranhão and Pará) experienced uninterrupted growth. Despite some fluctuations, Bahia and Pernambuco showed a tendency towards growth while the centre-south (Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais) suffered an economic contraction. We conclude that there was a stagnation in the added value of exports from all regions, whilst simultaneous growth for all territories occurred only after 1790.

Before 1898, the most sustained attempt by the United States to acquire Cuba occurred during the presidency of Franklin Pierce when the debate about slavery was roiling US domestic politics. Spain responded to the threat with a dramatic change of policy: in order to gain the favour and protection of Britain, it ordered that the slave trade to Cuba be ended. This article analyses Pierce's strategy and examines the complex jockeying it precipitated among Washington, London and Madrid. Mining US, British and Spanish archives, it is the first international history of the crisis that Washington's avarice provoked.