Undoing Illusions: Dr. Lund and the supposed Scandinavian presence in the land of Santa Cruz

Abstract

The authors analyze the contacts established between the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro and the Royal Society of Northern Antiquarians of Denmark in the nineteenth century. The search for vestiges of a Scandanavian presence in Brazil would provide evidence of Nordic grandeur in the period before the establishment of the Kingdom of Denmark. Given the country's defeat during the Napoleonic wars, the Royal Society welcomed such an hypotheses. For the IHGB the establishment of the ethno-cultural "roots"of the nation helped "establish our traditions."