The CLACLS Summer Travel Fellowship helped make possible a trip to Alagoas, Brazil, where I spent 5 weeks conducting preliminary research for my dissertation on underdevelopment and the history of the rural economy of Northeast Brazil. Although I had planned on spending most of my time at the Alagoas State Public Archives, I soon discovered that they did not have many of the kinds of historical documents that I needed, and so much of the rest of my time was spent searching for additional primary sources at other institutions. The trip allowed me to survey the landscape of potential sources, locate additional research materials, and begin to strategize about how to carry out the research for my dissertation on future trips to Brazil.