ABSTRACT
The Americas featured awe-inspiring social and geographic diversity in the period of study. Taxes and autonomy, more than land, proved crucial in rural protests. An expansive conception of protest and resistance is required to identify emerging tensions between Portugal and its American colony, particularly when comparing the more turbulent Spanish America. Significantly greater social diversity and more radical objectives characterised what became known as the “Tailor’s Conspiracy” in Salvador in 1798. Compared to Spanish America, indigenous populations were much smaller, and they included no great sedentary agriculturalists like the Aztecs or Incas. The most decisive commonality, across regions and empires alike, was the wariness of American-born elites. They hesitated to risk their privileged positions by pressing claims against colonial rule to the point of provoking instability. The corporate nature of Iberian rule complicated political relations and protests. Historians debate whether the resolutely public execution of Tiradentes slowed or exacerbated opposition to Portuguese rule.
