O progresso a vapor: navegação e desenvolvimento na Amazônia do século XIX [Steam progress: navigation and development in the 19th century Amazon]

The establishment of regular steamboat line in the Amazon region was neither a quick nor a simple decision. It was the result of a long decision-making process that was created along with the start of the Brazilian parliamentary life, in 1826. During its evolution, it underwent numerous advances and setbacks before the opening of the Amazon River to all friendly countries definitively began to attract foreign capital for the activity, starting in 1867. This article examines this crucial process for the formation of the Brazilian national state and the final incorporation of the Amazon into the Empire, recognizing that a fact of such importance could never be resolved in a few months only with the goodwill of some Paraenses to remain united to the Court of Rio de Janeiro.