Memória sobre a plantação dos algodões e sua exportação sobre a decadencia da lavoura de mandiocas, no termo da villa de Camamú, Comarca dos Ilhéos, Governo da Bahia

Memória sobre a plantação dos algodões e sua exportação sobre a decadencia da lavoura de mandiocas, no termo da villa de Camamú, Comarca dos Ilhéos, Governo da Bahia, by José de Sá Bettencourt, presents a vivid late-18th-century argument for transforming Bahia’s colonial agriculture. A work of historical nonfiction and agricultural history, Bettencourt’s memoir combines natural-history observations, practical advice, and economic analysis to explain why cotton cultivation could revitalise regional commerce while the mandioca (cassava) crop waned. Written by a University of Coimbra–trained scholar who served as an examiner of natural history in the Captaincy of Bahia, the text situates local soil, climate, and cultivation practices within broader trade networks of Portuguese Brazil. Bettencourt examines export logistics, plantation management, and the ecological and social factors behind crop decline, offering recommendations aimed at boosting prosperity in Camamú and the surrounding comarca. Ideal for listeners of history, economic history, agronomy, and colonial studies, this audiobook is a rare primary-source window into plantation-era debates about crops, commerce, and development. Scholars, students, and curious non-fiction listeners will find its mix of empirical observation and policy-minded argument both informative and revealing.