Though personally confronted with social inequality, including barriers to education and political representation, women made vital contributions to 19 ^th century Brazilian philosophy. The works in this volume, many of them translated into English for the first time, illuminate the intertwined histories of colonialism, sexism, education, and political governance. An introduction provides invaluable insight into Brazilian philosophy.

Among the texts presented are: Nísia Floresta, Pages of an Obscure Life, on slavery and oppression of natives; Nísia Floresta, Humanitarian Booklet, on the oppression of women in the colonial context; Francisca Diniz on women's emancipation in the context of the Brazilian Republic; Josefina Álvares de Azevedo on the need for universal education and the universal right to vote as means towards eradicating social inequality.