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Brazil and the United States during World War II and Its Aftermath

Negotiating Alliance and Balancing Giants

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Frank D. McCann

    1. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA

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  • Draws upon newly available archival material to illuminate Brazilian-American military relations during World War II and its aftermath

  • Examines the often-overlooked economic, diplomatic, and geographic contributions of Brazil to World War II

  • Appeals to scholars of international affairs, Latin American studies, World War II, diplomacy, and military history, as well as military and Foreign Service personnel

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xviii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. A Relationship of Unbalanced Giants

    • Frank D. McCann
    Pages 1-17

  3. Pre-war Fears and Explorations

    • Frank D. McCann
    Pages 19-57

  4. Search for Mutual Benefits

    • Frank D. McCann
    Pages 59-97

  5. Brazil’s Options Narrow

    • Frank D. McCann
    Pages 99-141

  6. Decision to Fight

    • Frank D. McCann
    Pages 143-181

  7. The Brazilian Expeditionary Force: The Smoking Cobras

    • Frank D. McCann
    Pages 183-224

  8. Post-World War Disappointment

    • Frank D. McCann
    Pages 225-247

  9. Cold Wind from the East

    • Frank D. McCann
    Pages 249-292

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 293-318
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Keywords

About this book

The military alliance between the United States and Brazil played a critical role in the outcome of World War II, and yet it is largely overlooked in historiography of the war. In this definitive account, Frank McCann investigates Brazilian-American military relations from the 1930s through the years after the alliance ended in 1977. The two countries emerge as imbalanced giants with often divergent objectives and expectations. They nevertheless managed to form the Brazilian Expeditionary Force and a fighter squadron that fought in Italy under American command, making Brazil the only Latin American country to commit troops to the war. With the establishment of the US Air Force base in Natal, Northeast Brazil become a vital staging area for air traffic supplying Allied forces in the Middle East and Asian theaters. McCann deftly analyzes newly opened Brazilian archives and declassified American intelligence files to offer a more nuanced account of how this alliance changed the course of World War II, and how the relationship deteriorated in the aftermath of the war.

Reviews

“McCann’s book will find its place among the classics on traditional military history about two ‘unbalanced giants’ from the 1920s to the 1950s and their brotherhood in arms. It offers new insights for those historians who are not familiar with McCann’s oeuvre or the Brazilian history of the 20th century.” (Ursula Prutsch, Revista Iberoamericana, Vol. 20 (73), 2020)

“Nearly fifty years after the publication of the classic Brazilian-American Alliance, 1937–1945, Frank D. McCann deepens our knowledge of the subject with new sources and abundant bibliography. This book reveals an alliance that was rife with distrust and yet ultimately victorious, whose importance in World War II is little known.” (Francisco C. A. Ferraz, Professor of History, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Paraná, Brazil)

“A beautifully researched and engaging study, it offers a detailed account of diplomatic and military negotiations between the two nations and makes important corrections to the record. McCann is an exceptional storyteller and this is a story of wartime not to be missed.” (Darlene J. Sadlier, Professor Emerita, Indiana University-Bloomington, USA)

“Frank D. McCann’s research and writing are first-rate. This work will be the authoritative text on the subject for the foreseeable future.” (W. Michael Weis, Professor of History, Illinois Wesleyan University, USA)

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA

    Frank D. McCann

About the author

Frank D. McCann is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of New Hampshire, USA. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Brazil and the United States during World War II and Its Aftermath

  • Book Subtitle: Negotiating Alliance and Balancing Giants

  • Authors: Frank D. McCann

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92910-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-92909-5Published: 07 September 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-06544-7Published: 19 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-92910-1Published: 24 August 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVIII, 318

  • Number of Illustrations: 17 b/w illustrations, 1 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Latin American History, History of the Americas, History of World War II and the Holocaust, Political History, Diplomacy

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