In this book, Myrup argues that informal networks of personal relations underlying the formal administrative structure that held the Portuguese early modern world together were crucial not only for the development of widespread corruption, but also for the survival of the empire in times of crisis. Myrup proposes to analyze this phenomenon by using social network analysis and theory, focusing on the individual trajectories of a number of selected case studies, which span across geography and chronology, and situating their careers within the institutional and local contexts. The benefits of this focus on agents are, Myrup argues, that “network theory’s emphasis upon social relationships, rather than upon the attributes of individual social actors, can obscure as much as it reveals, overshadowing the larger historical context in which the past was lived as well as the agency of individual actors themselves” (7). The book contains an introduction, followed by six chapters divided into three parts—with a geographical focus on Europe, South America (Brazil), and South Asia (centered on Macau and its relations with mainland China and Manila)—and a conclusion.

Problematically, there is but a brief discussion of what constitutes corruption in this period (indebted to the work of Sharon Kettering), the reader being informed that corruption depended largely on circumstances, and that actions and behavior regarded as corrupt today may not have been regarded as such in the period covered in Myrup’s analysis. Again in the conclusion Myrup states: “Contraband trade and other forms of corruption were an accepted part of the colonial world so long as such practices did not overstep certain social and political bounds” (172). How was corruption understood in the context of the absolute state, both in political and moral terms? What were the consequences for individuals seen as corrupt? Such questions are not raised in the book in detail; for these social and political limits in a Portuguese context, Myrup briefly refers to Ernst Pijning’s doctoral research on contraband in eighteenth-century Rio de Janeiro, and the moral implications of corruption are illustrated only by cursory references to the Arte de Furtar (attributed to the Jesuit Manuel da Costa) in both the introduction and conclusion. However, such questions will certainly be in the mind of readers attracted by the promising title of Myrup’s study. Also, there is no sustained attempt to explore this widespread corruption in the Portuguese early modern world in relation to the development of the Black Legend or to compare the Portuguese case to that of other maritime imperial superpowers.

Given that the thesis of the book and subsequent analysis emphasize the extent to which informal networks operated, the book would have benefitted from a more detailed account of the complex imperial administration in the Portuguese world, its structure, and remit. Despite Myrup’s insistence that “this book is not intended to be an institutional history” (8), such an account would help the reader situate the agents and their motivations in a broader institutional landscape. The author shows that he is well prepared for such a study of imperial administration in the first two chapters of this book (Part One); they address a gap in scholarship and present a very promising prosopographical study of the Overseas Council across two centuries (1641–1833). These two chapters contain graphs and diagrams that provide a clear picture of how the Overseas Council evolved in this period, and how Portugal’s Conciliar bureaucratic organization accommodated a new layer of ministerial bureaucracy in mid-eighteenth century. Chapter 1 focuses on the personal trajectories of Dom Jorge de Mascarenhas and Salvador Correia de Sá e Benavides, and Chapter 2 broadens the analysis to the Council as a whole; the unifying coherence of this section arises from the focus on the social networks of its members, in particular patronage and personal and family connections at court and beyond.

Moving from the colonial center to the peripheries, Part Two takes the reader to South America. Here, Myrup’s analysis sheds light on how patron–client networks enhanced the power and reach of the colonial state in remote areas, as was the case of the Brazilian backlands. Myrup illustrates this through the explorer António Raposo Tavares; despite the venality of his actions, the colonial administration was indebted to men like him in such remote locations, and in turn Tavares exploited his position to achieve benefits and privileges from the colonial administration. Chapter 4 delves into the governorship of Dom Rodrigo César de Meneses in São Paulo amid a gold rush in Cuiabá. The colonial state depended on these local officials to establish royal authority and Portuguese control in such far-flung areas, including through the eradication of corruption. However, as the governor’s involvement in a notorious case of fraud shows, these officials very often found themselves actively promoting the corruption that they were entrusted to stamp out, and getting away with it thanks to their personal connections. As Myrup concludes, “although the [Overseas Council] was a powerful metropolitan institution, its powers were limited by both state and freelance agents in colonial Brazil” (108).

Part III sees Myrup tackling the issue of corruption between Portuguese officials and non-Portuguese powers, giving the reader two very different insights into this. Chapter Five illustrates how merchants and corrupt officials used military assistance as an excuse to engage in trade at a time when intercolonial commerce in Asia was forbidden by Portugal’s Spanish monarchs, and how these clandestine networks persisted and were instrumental in ensuring Macau’s loyalty to the new Braganza dynasty after 1640. Chapter Six illustrates how Macau’s ability to adapt to Chinese imperial bureaucracy and social networks ensured a Portuguese presence in the territory, while providing ideal conditions for the practice of corruption, in this case the cover-up of the murder of two Chinese men.

The conclusion helps to flesh out the implications of the various personal trajectories scrutinized in the book and the types of corruption they embody in relation to patronage and social networks—and how these are affected by and in turn shape institutions: commercial networks, cross-cultural communication, and exchange.

It is refreshing to see the fruit of archival research being integrated in this analysis, even though the emphasis on informal networks is not a novelty. Myrup’s decision to structure his book in three parts around broad geographical areas can be questioned. In terms of coverage, what of India and Africa, namely Angola and Mozambique? It would have been preferable to organize the book differently, given that some of the issues he explores are not specific to the geographical areas examined. These observations should not detract from the quality of the book. It is engagingly written and lively, and Myrup has the talent to bring figures who encapsulate the issues he addresses to life.