History of the Empire of Brazil
Encyclopedia
Independence
The land now known as Brazil was claimed by Portugal for the first time on 22 April 1500 when the Navigator Pedro Álvares CabralPedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it...
landed on its coast. Permanent settlement by the Portuguese followed in 1534, and for the next 300 years they slowly expanded into the territory to the west until they had established nearly all of the frontiers which constitute modern Brazil's borders. In 1808 the army of French Emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
invaded Portugal, forcing the Portuguese royal family into exile. They established themselves
Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil
The Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil was an episode in the history of Portugal and the history of Brazil in which the Portuguese royal family and its court escaped from Lisbon on November 29, 1807 to Brazil, just days before Napoleonic forces captured the city on December 1...
in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, which thus became the unofficial seat of the entire Portuguese Empire
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
. On 12 December 1815 Dom João VI
John VI of Portugal
John VI John VI John VI (full name: João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael; (13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826) was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (later changed to just King of Portugal and the Algarves, after Brazil was recognized...
, then regent on behalf of his incapacitated mother, Queen Dona Maria I
Maria I of Portugal
Maria I was Queen regnant of Portugal and the Algarves from 1777 until her death. Known as Maria the Pious , or Maria the Mad , she was the first undisputed Queen regnant of Portugal...
, elevated Brazil from colony to Kingdom united with Portugal.
Liberal Revolution of 1820
The Liberal Revolution of 1820 was a political revolution that erupted in 1820 and lasted until 1826. It was unchained via a military insurrection in the city of Porto, in northern Portugal, that quickly and peacefully spread to the rest of the country. From 1807 to 1811 Napoleonic French forces...
erupted in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. The movement, initiated by liberals, resulted in a meeting of the Cortes (English: Courts, a Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
) which had as its goal to draft the kingdom’s first constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
. The liberals demanded the return of João VI, who had been residing in Brazil since 1808 and who had succeeded his mother as King in 1816. He named his son and heir Prince Dom Pedro (later Pedro I of Brazil and Pedro IV of Portugal) as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
and departed for Europe on 26 April 1821. The Portuguese Cortes enacted decrees which subordinated the Brazilian provincial governments directly to Portugal, abolished all superior courts and administrative bodies created within Brazil since 1808 and recalled Prince Pedro to Portugal.
Two groups emerged, both of which feared that the Cortes was attempting to return Brazil to the status of a mere colony: the Luso-Brazilians (then called Constitutional Monarchists) and the Nativists (then called Federalists). Members of both were mainly Brazilian-born gentry, landowners, farmers and rich business men, with a minority who were immigrants from Portugal. The Luso-Brazilians were men who graduated in the University of Coimbra in Portugal before 1816 and were led by José Bonifácio de Andrada. They called for a constitutional and centralized monarchy to prevent the possibility of provincial secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
ism. A few, such as Bonifácio, had further goals which included abolishing the slave trade and slavery itself, instituting land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
, and economic development of the country free of foreign loans
External debt
External debt is that part of the total debt in a country that is owed to creditors outside the country. The debtors can be the government, corporations or private households. The debt includes money owed to private commercial banks, other governments, or international financial institutions such...
. The Nativists, men without a higher education who had lived their entire lives in Brazil, desired exactly the opposite. They opposed the end of slavery, wanted a democracy in which only they were enfranchised, preservation of the existing social hierarchy, a monarch who would be a mere figurehead, and a weak federal organization in which the provinces would be ruled by the local interests without interference from the central government.
Both groups convinced the Prince not to return to Portugal, and he replied on 9 January 1822: "Since it is for the good of all and the general happiness of the Nation, I am willing. Tell the people that I am staying." He appointed José Bonifácio, leader of the Luso-Brazilians, as head of the Cabinet on 18 January 1822. Pedro traveled to São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
province to secure its loyalty to the Brazilian cause, but he received a letter from Bonifácio as he was returning to Rio de Janeiro on 7 September. The prince learned that the Cortes had annulled the remaining powers he had retained. Pedro turned to his companions, who included his Guard of Honor
Presidential Guard Battalion (Brazil)
The Presidential Guard Battalion is a unit of the Brazilian Army and honor guard to the President of Brazil. Two other units, the 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment and the Cayenne Battery, are also part of the presidential honor guard....
and said: "Friends, the Portuguese Cortes wants to enslave and pursue us. From today onward our relations are broken. No ties unites us any longer". Pulling off his blue and white armband which symbolized Portugal, he continued: "Armbands off, soldiers. Hail to independence, to freedom and to the separation of Brazil". In a moment which would become the most iconic in Brazilian history, he unsheathed his sword and affirmed that "For my blood, my honor, my God, I swear to give Brazil freedom", and then cried out: "Independence or death!"
Pedro's decision to defy the Cortes was met with armed opposition across Brazil by troops loyal to Portugal. The ensuing Brazilian War of Independence
Brazilian Declaration of Independence
The Brazilian Independence comprised a series of political events occurred in 1821–1823, most of which involved disputes between Brazil and Portugal regarding the call for independence presented by the Brazilian Kingdom...
spread throughout most of the country, with battles fought in the northern, northeastern, and southern regions. The last Portuguese soldiers surrendered on 8 March 1824, and independence was recognized by Portugal on 29 August 1825. In addition to those Brazilians and Portuguese who fought in the war, much of the credit for this victory is credited to Bonifácio's cabinet. It created an army and a navy practically out of nothing, greatly improved government finances, and unified the provinces under a single, cohesive leadership.
On 12 October 1822 Prince Pedro was acclaimed Dom Pedro I, Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil. It was concurrently the beginning of Pedro's reign and the birth of the independent Empire of Brazil. He was later crowned on 1 December. Meanwhile, Bonifácio initiated a judicial inquiry (which would become known as the "Bonifácia") against the Nativists, who were accused of conspiracy against the monarchy. Many were arrested.
The Constituent Assembly
Before declaring independence, Pedro had called for holding Brazilian elections to select delegates to a Constituent and Legislative National AssemblyConstituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
. On 3 May 1823, the Constituent Assembly initiated work towards framing a political Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
for the new nation. Its members, called national deputies, numbered 100 although only 88 actually sat on its sessions. They were indirectly elected by censitary suffrage and none belonged to political parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
(these having yet to be formed). There were factions
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
within it: the Luso-Brazilians, the Nativists, the Absolutists (then called Hunchbacks) and the Republicans. The latter were a few individuals with little influence or support. The remaining deputies were all monarchists. The Absolutists were mostly Portuguese who initially opposed Brazilian independence, although they accepted self-determination once it became inevitable. They opposed constitutional government and supported an absolutist form of monarchy. The Luso-Brazilians and Nativists supported a constitutional monarchy, with the former preferring a centralized government and the latter a loose federation.
The proposed Constitution was sent to the Assembly, where its members began working towards its promulgation. From the outset, the Nativists made attempts to overthrow the cabinet headed by Bonifácio at any cost. They wanted to avenge the persecution they had experienced during the "Bonifácia" in the previous year. The Absolutists, on the other hand, saw their interests threatened when Bonifácio issued two decrees which eliminated privileges reserved for those of Portuguese birth. Although holding many ideological differences, the Absolutists and the Nativists formed an alliance in order to remove their common enemy from power. Bonifácio himself had begun to lose support inside his own faction due to his arbitrary actions. A far more important factor which fueled the ever-increasing number of dissidents was reaction to the radical, if prescient, ideas he held—including the abolition of slavery. Eventually, disaffected members constituted a majority of the seats in the Assembly and signed a petition requesting the dismissal of Bonifácio's Cabinet. With the only alternative being to enter into an unnecessary conflict with the Assembly, Pedro I complied.
The emperor appointed a member of the Nativists to head a new cabinet. Consequently the Luso-Brazilians who had supported Bonifácio were recast as the opposition and created newspapers to attack adversaries in the Cabinet and the Assembly. Minor incidents continued to aggravate the internal struggle for power. The members of the Assembly paid little attention to completing work on the Constitution and instead concentrated on taking down their enemies. After several months, they had only approved 24 articles out of a total of 272.
The Emperor signed a decree dissolving the Assembly (something that even Bonifácio believed was the monarch's prerogative). Six deputies, including Bonifácio, were banished to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. However, they received a pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
from the Brazilian government as long as they lived there. The Nativists who were persecuted during the "Bonifácia" were pardoned. But the dissolution of the Assembly did not signify an end to the careers of other deputies: 33 would later become Senators, 28 would be appointed Ministers of State, 18 would serve as provincial presidents, 7 would sit as members of the first State Council, and 4 would act as regents.
On 13 November 1823, Pedro I placed the newly established Council of State
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
in charge of writing a proposal for a new Constitution—which was finished in just fifteen days. The Council of State was formed by men from both the Luso-Brazilians and the Nativists. The Council used the partly completed project which had been crafted in the Constituent Assembly as a model for the new charter. After finishing it, a copy was sent to all Municipal Chambers for a decision as to whether or not to accept the new charter and present it to a new Constituent Assembly for endorsement. But some of the Municipal Chambers suggested that, instead, it should immediately be approved as the Brazil's Constitution. Once the idea had been aired, the vast majority of the Municipal Chambers, composed of councilmen elected by the Brazilian people as their local representatives, voted in favor of its instant adoption as the Constitution of the Empire. The first Brazilian Constitution was then promulgated and solemnly sworn in the Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro
Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro
The Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, is an old Carmelite church which served as cathedral of Rio de Janeiro from around 1808 until 1976. During the 19th century, it was also used as Royal and Imperial chapel by the Portuguese and Brazilian royal families...
on 25 March 1824.
The liberal opposition
Although liberal in its content, the Constitution created an overly centralized country, where the provinces had no true autonomy. That sparked a minor rebellion in some provinces in the northeastConfederation of the Equator
The Confederation of the Equator was a short-lived rebellion that occurred in the northeastern region of Brazil during that nation's struggle for independence from Portugal. The secessionist movement was led by wealthy landowners who opposed early reforms by the nation's first leader, Emperor...
in the middle of 1824 which was easily suppressed, but that was enough to reveal discontentment over the State organization. Then, at the end of 1825 a secessionist rebellion began in Cisplatina, the southernmost Brazilian province. Unlike the rest of the country, its population was consisted of Brazilians and Hispanic-Americans, a heritage from the colonial times when the region swaped back and forth between Portugal and Spain. A former Spanish colony, the United Provinces of South America
United Provinces of South America
The United Provinces of South America was the original name of the state that emerged from the May Revolution and the early developments of the Argentine War of Independence...
(later Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
) formally annexed the Brazilian province. The Empire responded with a declaration of war, which "was to draw Brazil into a long, inglorious, and ultimately futile war in the south" – the Argentina-Brazil War
Argentina-Brazil War
The Cisplatine War or the Argentine–Brazilian War was an armed conflict over an area known as Banda Oriental or "Eastern Shore" in the 1820s between the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil in the aftermath of the United Provinces' emancipation from Spain.-Background:Led by...
. Just a few months later, in March 1826, João VI died and Pedro I inherited the Portuguese crown, becoming King Pedro IV. Therefore, both nations were again reunited- even if in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
only -although the war for Brazilian independence had ended barely 2 years before. Pedro I immediately abdicated his new crown, but since his successor was his eldest daughter, Maria II, who was a minor, that meant that he would still be linked to Portuguese affairs.
When the General Assembly was reopened in May 1826, more than 2 years after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly by Pedro I, "suspicions about the sincerity of his attachment to constitutional government and to Brazil's independence were already widespread." Pedro I and a considerable part of the legislature shared a smiliar ideal, that is, "of a constitucional order endowed with an elected legislature and independent judiciary but directed by a supreme ruler whose superior talents and favourable star gave him uncontested authority." Another part of the parliament "accepted the people-or more, precisely, that section of the population who qualified as 'civilized' [that is, the ruling circles only]-to be the source of authority, with they representatives they elected controlling power." The latter would form a loose alliance – known as the first Liberal Party – which also advocated a greater and true provincial autonomy. Thus, a "clash between two conflicting ideologies underlay all the battles that raged from 1826 to 1831 over the organization of the governance, the functioning of the political process, and the goals to be pursued in international affairs." The situation only worsened in 1828 when the war in the south ended with the loss of Cisplatina, which became the independent republic of Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and the usurpation of Maria II's throne by Prince Miguel, Pedro I's younger brother. Uncapable of dealing with Brazil and Portugal affairs at the same time, the emperor abdicated in behalf of his son (who became Pedro II) on 7 April 1831 and immediately departed for Europe to restore his daughter to her throne
Liberal Wars
The Liberal Wars, also known as the Portuguese Civil War, the War of the Two Brothers, or Miguelite War, was a war between progressive constitutionalists and authoritarian absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1828 to 1834...
.
A troubled regency
Since Pedro II would only be 18 in 1843, an elected regency was created to replace the emperor during his minority. The country became in all but the name a republic. Joaquim NabucoJoaquim Nabuco
Joaquim Aurélio Barreto Nabuco de Araújo was a Brazilian writer, statesman, and a leading voice in the abolitionist movement of his country.-Biography:...
, writing in the 1890s, remarked that the Brazilian republicans saw this period as their chance to prove that the country could survive in peace without a monarch as superior arbiter, as a neutral character above rival parties. However, this republican experience proved itself to be a complete disaster: as a republic, Brazil was no better than its Hispanic-American neighbors. The regency had little effective authority which resulted in nine years of chaos during which the country was plagued by rebellions and coup attempts initiated by unruly political factions.
The Liberal Party which assumed power on 7 April had been only a loose coalition representing "disparate interests, united only by their opposition to Pedro I." Although they were called liberals various groups within the coalition championed one or another liberal ideal while others opposed these points preferring to promote other aspects of liberalism. The party soon split into two factions: the republicans (also known as the "Extremists" or "Tatters") which was a small but aggressive group and the "moderate" liberals. The moderate liberals consisted of a coalition of the Nativists whose main leader was the priest Diogo Antônio Feijó and the Coimbra bloc–so-called because many of its supporters had graduated from Coimbra University. The Coimbra bloc's main leaders were Pedro de Araújo Lima
Pedro de Araújo Lima, Marquis of Olinda
Pedro de Araújo Lima, the Marquis of Olinda Pedro de Araújo Lima, the Marquis of Olinda Pedro de Araújo Lima, the Marquis of Olinda (Sirinhaem, 22 December 1793 — Rio de Janeiro, 7 June 1870, was a statesman and monarchist during the period of the Empire of Brazil (1822–1889). His long political...
(later Marquis of Olinda) and Bernardo Pereira de Vasconcelos. Vasconcelos acted not only as a leader but also as a mentor to the younger generation of his faction which included Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão
Honório Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná
Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná was a Brazilian politician, diplomat, judge, monarchist and co-founder of the Brazilian Conservative Party during the period of the Empire of Brazil . Paraná was born to a family of humble means in São Carlos do Jacuí, in what was then the captaincy...
(later the Marquis of Paraná), Paulino Soares de Sousa (later the first Viscount of Uruguay) and Joaquim José Rodrigues Torres.
There were also other, smaller groups not related to the moderates of which the most important were the restorationists (or Caramurus) who called for the return of Pedro I as regent for his son. Beyond the need to fight the restorationist threat the only other common interest uniting the Nativists and the Coimbra bloc into the Moderate Party was their support of federalism. The Brazilian constitution was overly centralized and this was one of the main reasons behind their opposition to the former emperor who was openly against any constitutional amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
. The Moderate Party believed that by granting more autonomy to the provinces it could placate discontent and extinguish any separatist threat.
A constitutional amendment effecting greater decentralization was voted upon and approved in the Chambers of Deputies, but it still faced major opposition in the Senate. The priest Antônio Feijó planned a coup d’état in which he would assume dictatorial powers and the constitutional amendment would be enacted concurrently without the approval of the National Assembly (Parliament). On 30 July 1832 some Nativist deputies (in concert with Feijó) put a proposal before the Chamber that parliament be turned into a constituent assembly and that a new constitution be adopted using as part of their argument that the senate was filled with restorationist senators. The Deputy Carneiro Leão managed to successfully rally the other deputies against the Nativists' proposal and the coup attempt was crushed. The Coimbra bloc's firm actions prevented restriction of legal rights and kept Brazil from sliding into dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
during the regency even under the threat of rebellions and political crises.
The Additional Act and resulting rebellions
The constitutional amendment, called the Ato Adicional (Additional Act), was finally promulgated on 12 August 1834. Among its provisions were the abolition of the Council of State and the establishment of a federal national structure due to administrative and political provincial decentralization. "Dissolution of power to the provinces, far from placating local ambitions and discontents, kindled them into flame. In the far north and the far south, civil wars broke out." The higher administrative and political provincial decentralization exacerbated conflicts between political parties, as whichever dominated the provinces would also gain control over the electoral and political system. Those parties which lost elections rebelled and tried to assume power by force. Rebellious factions, however, continued to uphold the Throne as a way of giving the appearance of legitimacy to their actions (that is, they were not in revolt against the monarchy per se). The CabanagemCabanagem
The Cabanagem was a social revolt that occurred in the then-province of Grão-Pará, Brazil.Among the causes for this revolt were the extreme poverty of the Paraense people and the political irrelevance to which the province was relegated after the independence of Brazil.The name "Cabanagem" refers...
(1835–40), the Sabinada (1837–38) and the Balaiada
Balaiada
The Balaiada was a social revolt that occurred between 1838 and 1841 in the interior of the province of Maranhão, Brazil.-Background:During the imperial period, the Maranhão region, which exported cotton, suffered a grave economic crisis because of competition with the increasingly productive...
(1838–41) all followed this course, even though in some instances provinces attempted to secede and become independent republics (though ostensibly only so long as Pedro II was a minor). The exception was the Farroupilha (or War of Tatters, 1835–45), which began as yet another dispute between political factions in the province of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
but quickly evolved into a separatist rebellion financed by the Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
dictator Don Manuel Rosas. But even in this case, the majority of the province's population, including the largest and most prosperous cities, remained loyal to the Empire.
In April 1835 an election was held to select a new regent. The outcome was problematic as no candidate won a majority of the vote. Feijó, the leader of the Nativists, garnered the most votes and assumed office on 12 October. News of the premature death of former emperor Pedro I on 24 September 1834 had arrived from Europe effectively removing the restorationist movement as a factor in national politics. Many restorationists joined the ranks of the Coimbra bloc. Both groups shared similar economic, social and ideological views. They were all firm monarchists and opposed Feijó. The death of Pedro I eliminated the chief difference between them as the Coimbra bloc was firmly opposed to his return. The first hints of what would later become the Conservative Party appeared when they began throwing their support to candidates other than Feijó and it became clearer after Deputy Carneiro Leão initiated talks with the restorationists in October 1834.
Once in office Feijó proved to be an authoritarian with little inclination to be accountable to parliament. By 1837 his government's credibility and support had disappeared. Uprisings both in the north and south had not been suppressed and other issues were ignored. "The country's needs were not being addressed." The reinvigorated Coimbra bloc intensified its efforts to remove Feijó from office due to inappropriate behavior and in August 1837 the regent resigned. He was replaced by Araújo Lima who appointed his colleagues to fill ministry portfolios. The Coimbra bloc "had come to power—not through a coup, not through a dynast's favor, but through the conquest of a representative majority in the Chamber."
This marked the extinction of the always weak Moderate Party, whose demise was symbolized with the death of Evaristo de Veiga in May, the last tie that kept united both Nativists and the Coimbra bloc. The Coimbra bloc began a policy aimed at restoring and enforcing order throughout Brazil. A new law was passed which built upon the Ato Adicional of 1834 to allow the national government to reassert control over provincial police and courts. This greatly enhanced the national government's ability to deal with rebels. However, no changes were made to the administrative and political autonomy granted to the provinces by the amendment of 1834. The Coimbra bloc's credibility was considerably enhanced by "the close links, both political and personal, that its leaders established with the booming coffe sector in the Paraíba valley just to the north of Rio de Janeiro city. Coffee exports quadrupled during the 1820s and doubled again between 1829 and 1835." "The economic boom strengthened the position of the national government, increasing its revenues and its ability to secure loans."
Feijo's Nativists allied with minor parties and remnants of other factions in opposition to the new government. These shared no common principles or ideology. "They were a pragmatic alliance involving everyone from republican radicals to moderate reformists to liberal monarchists to former restorationists." This group would evolve during the 1840s into the second "Liberal Party". Fearful that their adversaries would perpetuate themselves in power the Liberals began to call for a lowering of the age at which Pedro II would attain majority. They saw an opportunity to regain influence by doing away with the regency and instead dealing directly with a pliable young emperor. "Without experience, he might be manipulated by whoever brought him to power." Towards that end they allied themselves with a new and powerful political faction known as "The Courtier Faction" led by Aureliano de Sousa Oliveira Coutinho
Aureliano Coutinho, Viscount of Sepetiba
Aureliano de Sousa e Oliveira Coutinho, Viscount of Sepetiba was a Brazilian politician, judge and monarchist during the period of the Empire of Brazil...
(later the Viscount of Sepetiba) who was one Feijó's supporters in the 30 July 1832 failed coup. The Courtier Faction had been formed by politicians and high-ranking servants in the Imperial Palace who were close to the young emperor.
The Courtier Faction and Pedro II's early majority
The Coimbra bloc was not opposed to lowering the age of majority for the emperor but they demanded that any change should be made through legal means i.e. a constitutional amendment. After their experience of the perils and obstacles of government, the political figures – from both the Conservative and Liberal Parties – who had arisen during the 1830s became wary of taking on a greater role in ruling the nation. They looked to the Emperor as providing a fundamental and useful source of authority essential both for governing and for national survival. It was an ironic turn: the same politicians who opposed Pedro I for being a central figure in politics were now trying to put his son in that same position. Unlike the conservatives, however, the liberals were less scrupulous and with popular support and after pressuring the regent to accept the loss of his position declared Pedro II of age on 23 July 1840.This outcome was predictable since 1838. When Araújo Lima was elected regent in place of Feijó he named Bernardo Pereira de Vasconcelos to one of the ministry portfolios and he soon became a de facto Prime Minister, with even more power than the regent himself. He "could not cooperate but had to dominate, and he could not tolerate centers of authority independent of his will. No wonder that even his allies at lengtht became resentful and rebellious". Vasconcelos also tried, unsuccessfully, to remove the Imperial Palace servants that were part of the Courtier Faction. Araújo Lima, disliked with the loss of power, removed his support to Vasconcelos' cabinet, who at the point had lost cohesion and resigned office on 18 April 1839. After that, the regent "could do no more than to construct a succession of ramshackle cabinets lacking support in the legislature". With the decline of the Coimbra bloc also came of Vasconcelos', whose political influence and power over the party was superseded by the next generation, mainly Carneiro Leão, Rodrigues Torres and Paulino de Sousa.
The Liberal cabinet, formed upon the assumption of majority by Pedro II, called national elections in 1840. These were so violent and fraudulent that they became known as "Eleições do cacete" ("Bludgeon elections"). The alliance between liberals and courtiers did not last long. The liberal ministers in the cabinet presented their resignations in an attempt to get rid of their courtier allies. The young and inexperienced emperor was compelled to choose between the ministers and the courtiers. The bluff failed and Pedro II, influenced by the courtiers, accepted the cabinet's resignation. On 23 March 1841 a new cabinet was nominated which included some ministers taken from the Coimbra bloc.
The liberals did not accept their loss of power gracefully. In May and June 1842 there followed three uprisings within the provinces of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro itself. The pretext was a claim "to be acting against the tyrannical measures of the imperial government, which, they alleged, was holding the monarch captive." The rebels were easily defeated and by late August the rebellions were over. Among the rebel leaders was the former Regent Feijó who was arrested and died shortly afterwards in 1843.
Members of the Coimbra bloc began to call it the "Party of Order" in contrast to what they perceived as the "unruly" Liberals. Their suppression of the uprisings left them in a powerful position. In the cabinet there was increasing friction caused by Aureliano Coutinho who owed his seat as minister solely to his influence over Pedro II. It was widely known that he had been antagonistic towards the Party of Order from its inception. Aureliano "found himself increasingly ostracized and excluded by his fellow ministers". After a new legislature was seated on 1 January 1843, Aureliano's position worsened and the cabinet pressured him to resign. Pedro II did not not want to lose Aureliano and instead opted to dismiss the entire cabinet on 20 January.
Rise of the Conservative Party
On 20 January 1843 the emperor appointed Carneiro Leão, who was now a senator, to head a new cabinet. By personally selecting the cabinet members he became Brazil's de facto first prime minister. Prior to this, the emperor had always designated the cabinet ministers. Building upon this precedent, the office of prime minister would be officially instituted four years later with the title "President of the Council of Ministers". The Party of Order at this time held majorities in the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the Council of State. The new cabinet opposed amnesty for participants in the 1842 uprisings. This refusal was despite many involved having already been imprisoned for almost a year which rendered the possibilities for successful prosecution unlikely. Carneiro Leão acting as minister of Justice also pursued indictments against five senators who had collaborated during the revolts seeking a trial in the upper house. This came to dominate debate in the Senate and sidelined action on the government's legislative agenda during the ten months of the extended session. The cabinet's uncompromising position lost them the support of many who had cooperated with the ministry. A quarrel between Pedro II and Carneiro Leão led to the cabinet's resignation at the end of January 1844.For the next four years the Party of Order stood in opposition to the Liberals. During this time they also witnessed the rise and fall of Aureliano Coutinho's "Courtier Faction" which was allied to the Liberal Party. The Courtier Faction held nearly absolute sway over Brazilian politics for a couple of years. This lasted until the emperor, now fully grown and experienced, purged everyone linked to the group, including Aureliano—whose influence in politics disappeared after an implicit ban from Pedro II precluded his holding any political post. The monarch made clear that he thereafter would make his own impartial decisions free from the influence of others. From February 1844 through May 1848 the country saw four cabinets in succession—all composed of members from the Liberal Party. The inability of these cabinets to produce any concrete results stood as testimony to their internal divisions. Progressive initiatives lay dormant including new technology (e.g., railroads and the electric telegraph) and new institutions (e.g., a primary school system). After the last Liberal cabinet resigned, Pedro II called upon the Party of Order to form a new cabinet. They were by then known simply as the "Conservative Party" due to their goal of "preserving
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
" order and the constitutional monarchy. The former regent Pedro de Araújo Lima
Pedro de Araújo Lima, Marquis of Olinda
Pedro de Araújo Lima, the Marquis of Olinda Pedro de Araújo Lima, the Marquis of Olinda Pedro de Araújo Lima, the Marquis of Olinda (Sirinhaem, 22 December 1793 — Rio de Janeiro, 7 June 1870, was a statesman and monarchist during the period of the Empire of Brazil (1822–1889). His long political...
, the chief figure among the conservatives, assumed the office of president.
The Praieira revolt and the Platine War
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
, known as the Partido da Praia ("Party of the Beach"), were openly prepared to revolt and retake power by force. Although nominally liberal the praieiros were in reality related to the "Courtier Faction" and had Aureliano Coutinho as their national leader. In a sense the rebellion would represent the last gasp of the once-powerful "Courtier Faction" which had languished all but defunct since 1847. The praieiros had no popular support and they knew that public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
was against them—the more so as it became apparent they had no coherent rationale to justify rebellion. The rebellion which had began in 7 November 1848 had a small reach and was crushed on 2 February 1849 when the praieiros were decisively defeated after attacking the capital of Pernambuco, Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
. The main consequences following the end of the Praieira revolt included the almost complete disappearance of the Liberal Party who were rejected by public opinion for its actions, consolidation of support for the parliamentary monarchy among Brazilians and the supremacy of the Conservative Party in politics during the next decade.
Another issue came in confronting the trade in illegally imported slaves which had been banned in 1826 as part of a treaty with Britain. The traffic continued unabated and the British government's passage of the Aberdeen Act of 1845 authorized British warships to board Brazilian shipping and seize any found involved in the slave trade. A bill was issued on 4 September 1850 which gave the Brazilian government the authority to combat the illegal slave traffic. With this new tool, Brazil moved to eliminate the importation of slaves and Britain recognized that the trade had been at last suppressed.
With Brazil internally pacified and the British menace gone the conservative cabinet could turn its attention to another serious foreign threat the Argentine dictator Don
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
. Rosas had sought to annex the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
and planned the conquests of Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. These moves threatened the creation of a dominion encompassing the territories of the old Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
(a former Spanish colony in South America). Brazil's cabinet decided to forge alliances with other nations threatened by the dictator's ambitions and sent an army commanded by Luis Alves de Lima e Silva
Luís Alves de Lima e Silva
Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias , nicknamed "the Peacemaker" and "Iron Duke", was an army officer, politician and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. Caxias pursued a military career, as had his father and many relatives before him. In 1823, he fought as a young officer during most of...
(later the Dukes of Caxias) to Uruguay which crossed the border on 4 September 1851. The Brazilian army split into two parts. Half of it, consisting of a division along with Uruguayan forces and Argentine rebel troops, invaded Argentina. On 3 February 1852 the allies defeated an army led by Rosas who fled to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The victory over the Argentine dictator was followed by a period of stability and prosperity in Brazil during the 1850s. Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
was the only Latin American nation of the era which was comparable to Brazil in political cohesion and economic strength.
The Conciliation policy
The new president invited several Liberals to join the Conservative ranks and went so far as to name some as ministers. The cabinet was plagued from the beginning by strong opposition from Conservative Party members who repudiated the newly adopted conservatives believing that these did not truly share the party's ideals and were mainly interested in gaining public offices. Despite the mistrust Carneiro Leão demonstrated great resilience in fending off threats and overcoming obstacles and setbacks. Improvements throughout the country were made including the first railroad, steamship passenger lines, sewers, and public gas illumination as well as new incentives to promote immigration from Europe.
With the sudden and unexpected death of Carneiro Leão in September 1856, his cabinet would survive him by only a few months. The Emperor, a critic of the Conciliation as it had been implemented, learned to appreciate its merits and was eager to continue with it. Thus the cabinet survived Carneiro Leão, albeit with another president, until 4 May 1857.
The traditional Conservatives who opposed the Conciliation policy were led by Joaquim José Rodrigues Torres, the Viscount of Itaboraí, Eusébio de Queirós and Paulino Soares de Sousa, the Viscount of Uruguay—the "Saquarema Triumvirate". The Conservative Party was also known as "Saquarema Party" due to the coastal town of Saquarema
Saquarema
Saquarema is a town and a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 61,591 and its area is 355 km². It is located almost 100 km east of Rio de Janeiro...
in Rio de Janeiro province where Rodrigues Torres owned coffee plantations. These elder-statesmen were of the same generation as the late Carneiro Leão and had assumed the leadership of the Conservative Party after his death. Although conservative in name, they had repeatedly proven more progressive than their Liberal rivals in many areas.
A new party: the Progressist League
During the years following 1857 none of the cabinets survived long. They had quickly collapsed due to the lack of a majority in the Chamber of Deputies. The Conservative Party had split down the middle: on one side were the Traditionalists and on the other the Conciliators (who by 1860 were called simply "moderate conservatives"). The true reason for the schism was not the Conciliation policy as the speeches made it appear. In the wake of Carneiro Leão's cabinet a new generation of politicians had emerged eager to acquire more power inside the Conservative Party. These saw their path to the top ranks as being blocked by the conservative elders who would not easily relinquish control.Remaining members of the Liberal Party, which had languished since the Praieira rebellion in 1849, took advantage of the Conservative Party's apparent dissolution to return to national politics with renewed strength. They delivered a powerful blow to the government when they managed to win several seats in the Chamber of Deputies in 1860. The Emperor asked the Marquis (later Duke) of Caxias, who had commanded the Brazilian forces in the Platine War
Platine War
The Platine War, also known as the War against Oribe and Rosas was fought between the Argentine Confederation and an alliance consisting of the Empire of Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes...
and who was also a member of the Conservative Party, to head a new cabinet on 2 March 1861. The new government had to face a major challenge as the Chamber of Deputies was divided in three groups: the traditional or "pure" Conservatives, the "moderate" Conservatives and the Liberals. Caxias named men who were part of the pure and moderate Conservatives to the remaining portfolios in an effort to weaken the revigorated Liberal opposition and consolidate a workable governing majority.
The cabinet was unable to function due to a lack of true support internally. It was doomed when José Tomás Nabuco de Araújo Filho, the former Justice minister in the Conciliation cabinet, delivered a speech advocating a merger of moderate Conservatives and Liberals into a truly new political party. So well-received was this speech that both groups voted together as a single cohesive faction, leaving the government without a majority. The cabinet requested Pedro II dissolve the Chamber and call for new elections, but he refused. With no remaining alternative, the ministers resigned. On 24 May 1862 the Emperor named a member of the Moderate-Liberal coalition to form a new cabinet. The new political party, in which the majority of members were former Conservatives, was called the "Progressist League".
It was the end of 14 years of Conservative dominance in national politics. The period had marked a time of peace and prosperity for Brazil. "The political system functioned smoothly. Civil liberties were maintained. A start had been made on the introduction into Brazil of railroad, telegraph and steamship lines. The country was no longer troubled by the disputes and conflicts that had racked it during its first thirty years."
This tranquility disappeared when the British consul in Rio de Janeiro, William Dougal Christie, nearly sparked a war between Britain and Brazil. Christie believed in Gunboat diplomacy
Gunboat diplomacy
In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power — implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force....
and sent an ultimatum
Ultimatum
An ultimatum is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance. An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series of requests...
containing abusive demands arising out of two minor incidents at the end of 1861 and early in 1862. The first was the sinking of a commercial barque
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul and the ensuing ransack of the wreck by local inhabitants. The second was the arrest of drunken British officers who were causing a disturbance in the streets of Rio. The Brazilian government refused to yield and Christie issued orders for British warships to capture Brazilian merchant vessels as indemnity. Brazil's Navy prepared for imminent conflict, the purchase of coastal artillery was ordered, several ironclads were authorized and coastal defenses were given permission to fire upon any British warship that tried to capture Brazilian merchant ships. Pedro II was the main reason for Brazil's resistance as he rejected any suggestion of yielding. This response came as a surprise to Christie, who changed his tenor and proposed a peaceful settlement through international arbitration. The Brazilian government presented its demands and severed diplomatic ties with Britain in June 1863 upon seeing the British government's position weaken.
The War of the Triple Alliance
As the threat of war with the British Empire became more real, Brazil had to turn its attention to its southern frontiers. Another civil war had begun in UruguayUruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
turning its political parties against each other. The internal conflict led to the murder of Brazilians and looting of their property in Uruguay. Brazil's government decided to intervene, fearful of giving any impression of weakness in the face of conflict with the British. A Brazilian army invaded Uruguay in December 1864 beginning the brief Uruguayan War
Uruguayan War
The Uruguayan War , also known as the War against Aguirre, was fought between Uruguay and an alliance between the Empire of Brazil and Uruguayan Colorados....
, which ended on 20 February 1865.
Meanwhile, in December 1864 the dictator of Paraguay, Francisco Solano López
Francisco Solano López (politician)
Francisco Solano López Carrillo was president of Paraguay from 1862 until his death in 1870. He was officially the eldest son of president Carlos Antonio López, whom he succeeded...
took advantage of the situation to establish his country as a regional power. The Paraguayan army
Paraguayan army
The Paraguayan Army is an institution of the State of Paraguay, organized into three divisions and 9, and several commands and directions, went to war on two occasions, in the War of the Triple Alliance v Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and Chaco War v Bolivia.- Mission :* Maintaining the sanctity...
invaded the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
(currently the state of Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil.Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising...
), triggering the War of the Triple Alliance
War of the Triple Alliance
The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...
. Four months later, Paraguayan troops invaded Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
territory as a prelude to an attack upon the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
.
Decline
The 1867 collapse of the French-sponsored Second Mexican EmpireSecond Mexican Empire
The Second Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico under the regime established from 1864 to 1867. It was created by Napoleon III of France, who attempted to use the Mexican adventure to recapture some of the grandeur of earlier Napoleonic times...
left Brazil the only Latin American monarchical regime for another 22 years.