Soccer and Racism: The Beginnings of Futebol in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, 1895-1933

This book aims to use soccer as a tool to understand key elements of Brazil’s history from the overthrown of the Monarchy in 1889 to the 1930 Revolution that brought Getulio Vargas to power—the so called First Republic. More specifically, this book will show that the advent of soccer and the reactions of the elites toward this sport can be understood primarily as a consequence of the desire of the new Republic—crucially influenced by racist attitudes integral to Social Darwinism—to be inclu...