Cartas Chilenas
Frontispiece of the first edition, 1863 | |
| Author | Tomás António Gonzaga |
|---|---|
| Language | Portuguese |
| Subject | Satire |
| Genre | Poetry, epistolary novel |
Publication date | 1863 |
| Publication place | Brazil |
Cartas Chilenas (in English: Chilean Letters) is an unfinished series of satirical poems attributed to Luso-Brazilian Neoclassic poet Tomás António Gonzaga. The poems circulated in the city of Vila Rica (present-day Ouro Preto) via pamphlets for several years before the 1789 Minas Conspiracy, but were discontinued after the Conspiracy was dismantled, as Gonzaga was exiled to the Island of Mozambique. It is speculated that the Cartas Chilenas were inspired by Montesquieu's Persian Letters.
The poems were first compiled and published in 1863. They were re-edited several times thereafter, reaching their present form in 1957, thanks to the extensive research of Portuguese philologist Manuel Rodrigues Lapa.