This paper articulates the concepts of political culture, schooling and slavery in order to comprehend the process of instituting modern schools in Brazil, during the period immediately after Independence in 1822. With a view to this, it takes as its starting point the strategies and proposals of different groups disputing the direction of the nation-building movement, and the importance they attached to instruction amidst this process. Analysis focuses on the province of Minas Gerais, a region in which issues related to education received particular attention. A fundamental characteristic of this region was the hegemonic presence of blacks in its demographic structure, a large proportion of whom were slaves. The paper thus seeks to relate the profile of the population to the educational proposals which circulated in debates on the process of organising and structuring the province. Various documentary sources were used in the analysis, especially projects proposed by politicians, minutes and reports of the Provincial Presidents, newspapers and provincial censuses. (Contains 1 figure and 36 footnotes.)