ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on both of Graham's journals about Brazil, her evolving relationship with Brazil and how, in the course of this evolution, she integrates herself into its political future as "Governess to the Imperial Princess". Graham's Brazil narratives are published earlier than those addressed by Mills, but they formed part of the discourses circulating in Britain about Spanish and Brazilian independence movements. The chapter argue that while initially conflicted about Brazil's aesthetics of dress, manners, and taste, Graham ultimately imagines a gendered, public role for herself in Brazilian independence. By actively gendering her contributions to Brazil's political future, Graham gives space to women's participation in Britain's imperial projects. Portuguese and Brazilian-born Portuguese women come under particular scrutiny as their limitations of taste racialize and class them. Graham's education and taste become instrumental in forming the mind of a future empress who will govern a whole people.
