Appendix Compendiaria

José Basílio da Gama’s Brazilian Gold Mines (Brasilienses Aurifodinae) is a Neo-Latin didactic poem composed in the late eighteenth century, offering a rare literary portrayal of colonial Brazil’s gold economy through the lens of classical poetic form. Written in Latin hexameters, the poem merges Early Modern scientific curiosity with epic tradition, providing valuable insights into the material, political, and cultural dimensions of mining in Minas Gerais. This volume presents the first-ever English translation of the poem, alongside the original Latin text, with commentary and scholarly annotations. It also includes all surviving paratexts found in the manuscript, including illustrations and textual marginalia, making it a comprehensive edition of the work. The introduction situates the poem within the broader corpus of colonial Latin American literature, with special attention to its ethnographic descriptions, treatment of enslaved labor, and articulation of imperial discourse in Luso-Brazilian contexts. Intertextual references to Vergil, Pliny, and many other classical and early modern texts are explored in detail. A significant work at the intersection of classical reception, Latin American Studies, and Brazilian Literature, Brasilienses Aurifodinae sheds light on Latin as a medium of knowledge production in the Portuguese Americas. This edition is intended for scholars of Neo-Latin poetry as well as those interested in the intersections of classics, literature, empire, and science.