Libertarian Papers

A Journal of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

  • Home
  • Aims & Scope
    • Editors & Editorial Board
    • Submissions
  • Podcasts
  • Print & Ebook Versions
  • News and Updates
  • Subscribe
  • LP Store
  • Contact

“Freedom from the State in Rio: The Classical Liberal Ideals of Frei Caneca, Leader of the 1824 Confederation of the Equator Movement in Northeastern Brazil”

Abstract: Latin American religious political thought includes colonial Spanish and Portuguese ideologies that preceded independence but have survived into the post-independence era, authoritarian ideologies supportive of military governments in the twentieth century, and progressive liberation theologies. In this article, I present a distinct tradition: a version of classical liberal thought. This tradition is skeptical of big government, opposed to caste systems, supportive of a high degree of federalism, uneasy with militarism, and supportive of democratic institutions while affirming religious social norms. This ideology was developed in northeastern Brazil in the early nineteenth century by a Carmelite activist named Frei Caneca (Brother Mug), who published a newspaper titled the Typhis Pernambucano (Tiphys of the State of Pernambuco).

Keywords: Classical liberalism, Brazil, Rio, Frei Caneca, Brother Mug, Confederation of the Equator, political philosophy, federalism, regional autonomy

Download Paper: “Freedom from the State in Rio: The Classical Liberal Ideals of Frei Caneca, Leader of the 1824 Confederation of the Equator Movement in Northeastern Brazil”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

July 27, 2016, By Stephan Kinsella (Editor) Filed Under: Libertarian Papers, Volume 8 (2016)

Search

Journal Archives

  • Volume 10 (2018)
  • Volume 9 (2017)
  • Volume 8 (2016)
  • Volume 7 (2015)
  • Volume 6 (2014)
  • Volume 5 (2013)
  • Volume 4 (2012)
  • Volume 3 (2011)
  • Volume 2 (2010)
  • Volume 1 (2009)

News and Updates

  • David Gordon’s JLS EditorialMay 29, 2022
  • Volume 9 of Libertarian Papers is Now Available in Print |August 10, 2018
  • Volume 8 of Libertarian Papers is Now Available |April 24, 2017
  • Jakub Wiśniewski Joins the Libertarian Papers Editorial Board |April 12, 2017
  • Libertarian Papers Archived by the Library of Congress |July 11, 2016
Contributor Login

Copyright © 2025 · Libertarian Papers