BrunoNobrega
Empire of the Cane Fields is a work of historical fiction, conceived as a literary narrative grounded in historical research.
Although its characters, dialogue and narrative are fictional creations, the historical framework upon which the novel is built-the city of Funchal in the sixteenth century, the sugar economy, the organisation of sugar-cane plantations and mills, the systems of coerced labour associated with sugar production, and the influential role of the religious orders-is based on primary sources and well-established scholarly research.
Madeira played a pivotal role in the emergence of the Atlantic sugar economy, serving as a pioneering laboratory for agricultural techniques, production systems and socio-economic models that would later be replicated elsewhere in the Atlantic world, particularly in Brazil and the Caribbean. The prosperity generated by sugar coexisted with profound social inequalities and the intensive exploitation of enslaved labour. This novel seeks to portray that reality within its proper historical context and in a manner informed by current historical scholarship.
Whenever the narrative departs from strict documentary evidence, it does so consciously and deliberately, in the service of literary coherence and a clearer understanding of the historical process, while remaining faithful to the economic, social and cultural structures of the period portrayed.
The bibliography provided brings together some of the principal works that informed the historical background of this novel and is intended for readers who wish to explore in greater depth the historical context upon which this work of fiction is based.