The regular army in colonial Brazil was simultaneously a tool of imperial policy (seen as a way to impose metropolitan will) and an institution that, like many others, integrated in its ranks, and in senior positions, settlers, sometimes disgruntled settlers. This article deals with this apparent ambiguity. It examines the prosopography of officers who served in late-eighteenth-century colonial Brazil, considering their origin, social standing, military experience and even political leanings. Its findings reveal an institution that, in spite of its imperial function and the looming internal tensions, seemed to have contributed to the cohesiveness of the Empire.

巴西殖民地的正规军同时是帝国政策的工具（被视为施加大都会意志的一种手段），并且是与许多其他人一样，融入其职级和高级职位的定居者，有时甚至是不满的定居者的机构。本文解决了这种明显的歧义。它检查了在18世纪末殖民地巴西服役的军官的前奏，并考虑了他们的出身，社会地位，军事经验甚至政治倾向。它的发现揭示了一个机构，尽管它具有帝国功能和迫在眉睫的内部紧张局势，但似乎有助于帝国的凝聚力。