Overview
The Brazil Railway Company records include administrative material, financial records, and letters and papers pertaining to the reorganization of the company spearheaded by W. Cameron Forbes, 1914-1920.
Dates
- Creation: 1914-1920
Creator
- Brazil Railway Company (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.
Extent
9 linear feet (19 volumes, 8 boxes)The records of the Brazil Railway Company include receivership journals, administrative records, financial material, reports, and letters. The material documents the reorganization of the company after it filed for bankruptcy in 1913 and W. Cameron Forbes' attempt to repay debts and restore the company to a profit making enterprise. Also included is correspondence of co-receiver Charles E. Perkins and records relating to the Brazil Land, Cattle, and Packing Co., the Madeira-Mamoré Railway, and the Uruguay Railway Company.
Historical Note:
The Brazil Railway Company was founded in 1906 by New York businessman and Latin American industrialist Percival Farquhar. He had a dream of industrializing the Southern Amazon region by building railways to carry and distribute goods and materials. In 1913, the Brazil Railway Company filed for bankruptcy due to the Balkan Wars and a freeze in credit. A court in Maine appointed W. Cameron Forbes as receiver of the company and he created a reorganization and credit pay back plan for the company. The Brazil Railway continued to operate until roughly 1940.
Physical Location
MANU
Provenance:
Gift of W.Cameron Forbes through Harvard College Library, 1951.
Processing Information
Processed: December 2009
By: Benjamin Johnson
Processing Note:
This collection was previously part of the Forbes family business records. It has been separated from that collection.
Creator
- Brazil Railway Company (Organization)
Subject
- Farquhar, Percival (Person)
- Forbes, W. Cameron (William Cameron) (Person)
- Title
- Brazil Railway Company. Brazil Railway Company Records, 1914-1920: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Baker Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- bak00150
Repository Details
Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository
Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.
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