Authorship and legal responsibility in the Brazilian press of the 19th century

Abstract

Based on the concept of “criminal appropriation of authorship”, as described and analyzed by Michel Foucault and Roger Chartier in their studies on the emergence of the authorship in the Modern Era, this article focuses on the problem of authorship and legal responsibility in the 19th century Brazilian press. To the extent that anonymity in newspapers was granted by the press laws of the Empire, the legal responsibility of articles considered offensive and seditious was an unavoidable issue for jurists, journalists, editors and printers. Aiming to contribute to the legal history of print culture in Brazil, the article also investigates how violence and legal reforms reflected on authorship practices in the press, by emphasizing on the role of the “testa de ferro” (iron forehead). When he was hired to take legal responsibility for texts published in newspapers and periodicals, this character became a fundamental part of the Brazilian press in the 19th century.