The manuscript "Para uma história da vacina no Brasil" [For a history of vaccination in Brazil] was unearthed in the archives of Instituto Histórico Geográfico Brasileiro (IHGB) along with other texts by Joaquim Manoel de Macedo. It was written in partnership with Joaquim Norberto in 1859 in response to a request by the Emperor to the institute. Its characteristics mark it out as a founding text: its arguments are designed to establish who really introduced the smallpox vaccine to Brazil and to resolve the controversy between the Marquis of Barbacena and a surgeon, Francisco Mendes Ribeiro de Vasconcellos. It analyzes the documents that provide the basis for both versions and consolidates the beginning of the history of vaccination in Brazilian territory in 1878, which was subsequently recognized by IHGB.