Brazil, The Empire (Second)

The reign of Pedro II (1840–1889) was a period of recentralization, restoration of order and legitimate authority, state building, and economic development, especially in the years 1845–1870. Consensus among parties and the elite on fundamental issues promoted political unity and a liberal and stable regime. Federalism receded, and the cycle of revolts ended. Institutionalized control over the provinces was established as was crown authority over the executive and legislative branches. The Council of State was reinstated, and reform of the Criminal Procedures Code gave the executive control over the police and judiciary.

Empiricism and gradualism guided the government on legislation. Freedom of the press, a two-party system, and parliamentarism were institutionalized and electoral reforms were implemented. The banking, diplomatic, and administrative systems were organized, civil laws were consolidated, and a commercial code was compiled. The economy grew as Brazil became the leading exporter of coffee, as imports and exports increased, and as the tariff reform of 1844 strengthened finances. The quickening of the economy fostered railway building, introduction of steam navigation, construction of public works, incorporation of joint-stock companies, development of public utilities, increasing urbanization, and some industrial growth. Under British pressure the slave trade had ended, and in 1867 the government began to plan the gradual abolition of slavery. Beyond Brazil's borders progressive involvement in the Plata region helped to defeat Juan Manuel de Rosas of Argentina, but the War of the Triple Alliance (1865–1870) proved a costly victory for the empire. The last two decades of the monarchy brought impressive growth in population, immigration, wage labor, capital accumulation, and economic prosperity, as well as measures for administrative decentralization. It was also a time of ferment. The centralization that had provided stability was seen now as an impediment to progress. Divergent views and interests among elite groups broke the unity of the social and political pact. Positivism influenced the younger generation, especially that in the army, which developed a messianic view and contempt for civilian politicians. Old issues resurfaced. In the early 1870s, state control of the church on temporal matters led to the Religious Question, which only reinforced the perception of a powerful and unbending state. The law of the Free Womb (Free Birth Law) and the concept of gradual abolition of slavery were attacked as inadequate, and the abolitionist movement increasingly gained strength. Republican propaganda grew in its advocacy of federalism and changes in the moderative power and the Council of State.

The increasing unrest was only slightly checked by a complacent political elite, which was certain of the strength and solid foundations of the political system. In reality, the lack of mechanisms to handle and accommodate the compounding political and social changes occurring in society paralyzed the system, ensuring its demise. In 1888 Princess Isabel abolished slavery by bypassing the traditional system of decision making. Unrest in the army, manipulated by a small group of civilians, led to the easy overthrow of the monarchy in 1889.

See alsoIsabel, Princess of Brazil; Pedro II of Brazil; Slavery: Brazil.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Richard Graham, Britain and the Onset of Modernization in Brazil, 1850–1914 (1968).

Robert Conrad, The Destruction of Brazilian Slavery, 1850–1888, 2d ed. (1972).

Emilia Viotti Da Costa, The Brazilian Empire: Myths and Histories (1985).

Leslie Bethell, ed., Brazil Empire and Republic, 1822–1930 (1989).

Additional Bibliography

Barman, Roderick J. Citizen Emperor: Pedro II and the Making of Brazil, 1825–1891. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999.

Barman, Roderick J. Princess Isabel of Brazil: Gender and Power in the Nineteenth Century. Wilmington: SR Books, 2002.

Costa, Emília Viotti da. The Brazilian Empire: Myths & Histories. Rev. ed. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000.

Costa, Wilma Peres. A espada de Dâmocles: O exército, a Guerra do Paraguai e a crise do Império. São Paulo: Editora Hucitec: Editora da UNICAMP, 1996.

Dolhnikoff, Miriam. O pacto imperial: Origens do federa-lismo no Brasil. São Paulo: Editora Globo, 2005.

Graham, Richard. Patronage and Politics in Nineteenth-Century Brazil. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990.

Grinberg, Keila. O fiador dos brasileiros: Cidadania, escravidão e direito civil no tempo de Antonio Pereira Rebouças. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2002.

Needell, Jeffrey D. The Party of Order: The Conservatives, the State, and Slavery in the Brazilian Monarchy, 1831–1871. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006.

Santos, Luís Cláudio Villafañe Gomes. O império e as repúblicas do Pacífico: As relações do Brasil com Chile, Bolívia, Peru, Equador y Colômbia. Curitiba: Editora UFPR, 2002.

                                            Lydia M. Garner