3 Review(s)

George Winius, an American historian teaching in the Netherlands, first examines the contemporary testimony in its historical context and then asks the questions: what really was corruption in that age Can it be compared to what we consider corruption in our own time Was it the consequence of Portugalas failure to build a system of civilian government Or was it the result of the European patronage system transported to a location where there was plenty of extra money to be obtained Dr. Winius examines all these questions and attends to another two raised by his colleagues a Leiden University: Were the exposes written by men who resented their exclusion from the system And was this system itself European or Indian in nature.