The first four centuries of Brazilian history witnessed a wide range of interactions between humans and nonhuman animals that were an essential component in the formation of Brazilian society. Selected narratives from primary and secondary sources describe this complex network of interactions, in which humans and nonhumans were both partners and adversaries, within a context of wide-ranging cultural and environmental exploitation. The artwork of Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802–1858), a German artist who graduated from the Munich Academy, reveals some of the nuances of these hybrid scenarios, providing invaluable insights that may deepen our understanding of the period and of those who were given no voice and remained on the periphery of historical events.
