A. Novais has captured the analytical movement contained in the book by warning that the "meaning of colonisation" is evoked in each one of the parts and chapters, methodically elucidating both the particularities of the object studied, due to its general dimension, and its pertinence, measured in the diversity of situations historically examined in the times, spaces, and social relations in force in the Portuguese colony in America. It is worth noting some unique features of this work—the most renowned by Caio Prado Júnior—in terms of the methods of analysis, sources, and documentation consulted. Legal sources were the most used by the author. Portuguese legislation, the ordinances of the Kingdom, inquisition records, royal charters, and decrees are the starting point for understanding the workings of colonisation. The use of documents of administrative origin is also abundant. These are Atas da Câmara [Minutes of the Chamber], memoirs and accounts of journeys by soldiers, missionaries, merchants, colonial authorities and administrators, mail, and quantitative data. This diverse universe of documents—massively printed and official—became nuclear in the book. Firstly, because of the São Paulo historian's familiarity with roles of a legal and administrative nature, given his training in law. Secondly, this was the type of document that prevailed in the compilations and editions of fairly representative samples, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and which were accessible in series organised and sponsored by cultural institutions in the first decades of the 20th century. The most recurring examples are Anais da Biblioteca Nacional [ Annals of the National Library ], Catálogo das cartas régias, provisões, alvarás, avisos, portarias etc. [Catalogue of royal letters , provisions , permits , notices , ordinances , etc.] from the National Archive , Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro [ Magazine of the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute ], Documentos interessantes para a história e costumes de São Paulo [ Interesting documents on the history and customs of São Paulo] of the Archive of the State of São Paulo, and from the Atas da Câmara da Vila de São Paulo [Minutes of the Town Council of São Paulo] of the Public Municipal Archive . These collections, transcribed and printed, also included reports by national and foreign travellers, memoirs, instructions, and private, ecclesiastical, military, and government mail, as well as sparse and varied documentation. Formação do Brasil contemporâneo [Formation of Contemporary Brazil] was hailed by the critique and well accepted by the readership and quickly and repeatedly reissued. The reviews and comments on the book are unanimous in emphasising its methodical originality without identifying or naming it.

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