Shawn William Miller Book sku-646967665 462686886192

Fruitless Trees by Shawn William Miller is a hardcover listed under Latin American History Books. It examines why much of Brazil's forest was burned rather than harvested for Brazilians' benefit, despite Portuguese colonists' expectations of large returns from timber they considered abundant and superior to timber known in Europe, North America and Portugal's East Indian possessions.

Miller studies how Portuguese colonial forest law helped or hindered the timber trade and colonial development. Timber extraction affected much of the early modern colonial economy. The book challenges accounts that attribute forest destruction solely to European greed and hostility toward forests. Although Brazil exported substantial timber to Europe, exports fell short of expectations.

Miller considers the scarcity of common stands, dense timbers that were costly to float downstream, and the shortage of safe ports and navigable rivers. He identifies the Crown's effort from 1652 to claim Brazil's best timbers as the most significant factor: Brazilians who had no incentive to harvest those trees set large tracts on fire. SKU: sku-646967665. UPC: 462686886192.