Conjecture about Vikings in Brazil in the 1840s

In 1840s, letters between Brazilian and European academics and selected journal publications show that intellectuals at the time exlpored the possible presence of Vikings in Brazil. Spurred on by nationalist ideas, they tried to fill the gaps in their knowledge through making conjectures based on a range of what may seem to us today as fanciful evidence. Their exchanges point to a way of history-making that fits in with a desired narrative at a particular time and context, and shows that the alure of the Vikings is not only a contemporary phenomenon.