Independence

The land now known as Brazil was claimed by the Portuguese for the first time on 23 April 1500 when the Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral 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 invaded Portugal, forcing the Portuguese royal family into exile. They established themselves in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, which thus became the unofficial seat of the entire Portuguese Empire. On 12 December 1815 Dom João VI, then regent on behalf of his incapacitated mother, Queen Dona Maria I, elevated Brazil from colony to Kingdom united with Portugal.

In 1820 the Constitutionalist Revolution erupted in Portugal. The movement, initiated by liberals, resulted in a meeting of the Cortes (English: Courts, a Constituent Assembly) which had as its goal to draft the kingdom's first constitution. 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 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 secessionism. A few, such as Bonifácio, had further goals which included abolishing the slave trade and slavery itself, instituting land reform, and economic development of the country free of foreign loans. 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 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 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 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.

Early years

The Constituent Assembly
Before declaring independence, Pedro had called for holding Brazilian elections to select delegates to a Constituent and Legislative National Assembly. On 3 May 1823, the Constituent Assembly initiated work towards framing a political Constitution 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 (these having yet to be formed). There were factions 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. However, they received a pension 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 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 on 25 March 1824.

The liberal opposition

Although liberal in its content, the Constitution created a centralized government, where the provinces had no true autonomy. Desire for local control sparked a minor rebellion in some provinces in the northeast in 1824 which was easily suppressed, but the incident was enough to reveal discontent with the State's organization. At the end of 1825, a secessionist rebellion began in Cisplatina, the southernmost Brazilian province. Unlike the rest of the nation, its population consisted of both Luso-American and Hispano-American elements, a result of colonial times when sovereignty over the region shifted between Portugal and Spain. The United Provinces of South America (a former Spanish colony later known as Argentina) 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 Cisplatine War. João VI died in March 1826, a few months after the outbreak, and Pedro I inherited the Portuguese crown, becoming King Pedro IV. Brazil and Portugal were again reunited—though only in a personal union—barely 2 years following the end of the war for Brazilian independence. Pedro I quickly abdicated the Portuguese crown in favor of his eldest daughter Maria II, but as she was a minor, he retained involvement in 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 similar ideal, that is, "of a constitutional 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 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.

Regency

A troubled regency

Since Pedro II would only be 18 in 1843, an elected regency was created to replace the emperor during his minority. Joaquim Nabuco, 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 (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 (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. 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 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 was the establishment of a quasi-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 Cabanagem (1835–40), the Sabinada (1837–38) and the Balaiada (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 Ragamuffin War, which began as yet another dispute between political factions in the province of Rio Grande do Sul but quickly evolved into a separatist rebellion financed by the Argentine 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 coffee 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 (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.

Consolidation

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 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" order and the constitutional monarchy.  The former regent Pedro de Araújo Lima, the chief figure among the conservatives, assumed the office of president.

The Praieira revolt and the Platine War

Unlike their rivals, the liberals were incapable of taking turns in office. The most radical faction of the liberals in the province of Pernambuco, 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 was against them—the more so as it became apparent they had no coherent rationale to justify rebellion. The rebellion which had begun on 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. 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 Juan Manuel de Rosas. Rosas had sought to annex the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul and planned the conquests of Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia. These moves threatened the creation of a dominion encompassing the territories of the old Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (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 (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. The victory over the Argentine dictator was followed by a period of stability and prosperity in Brazil during the 1850s. Chile was the only Latin American nation of the era which was comparable to Brazil in political cohesion and economic strength.

Growth

The Conciliation policy

On 6 September 1853 Carneiro Leão was appointed President of the Council of Ministers and charged with organizing a new cabinet. He was at this time the most influential politician in the country and leader of the Conservative Party. Emperor Pedro II wished to advance his ambitious plan: the Conciliation. The goal of the Conciliation was to put an end to the recurrent factional conflicts which had started with the Restorationists at the beginning of the 1830s and had been continued by the Liberals. It had become usual for parties which were ousted from power in elections to attempt to regain it by force of arms as happened in 1842 and 1848. From that point on political disputes were to be settled democratically in the parliament. Both parties would be required to rise above partisanship and instead devote themselves to the common good of the nation.

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 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 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 and sent an ultimatum 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 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.

Apogee

The diplomatic victory over the British Empire and the military victory over Uruguay in 1865, followed by the successful conclusion of the war with Paraguay in 1870, marked the beginning of the "golden age" of the Brazilian Empire. The Brazilian economy grew rapidly; railroad, shipping and other modernization projects were started; immigration flourished. The Empire became known internationally as a modern and progressive nation, second only to the United States in the Americas; it was a politically stable economy with a good investment potential.

In March 1871, Pedro II named the conservative José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco as the head of a cabinet whose main goal was to pass a law to immediately free all children born to female slaves. The controversial bill was introduced in the Chamber of Deputies in May and faced "a determined opposition, which commanded support from about one third of the deputies and which sought to organize public opinion against the measure." The bill was finally promulgated in September and became known as the "Law of Free Birth". Rio Branco's success, however, seriously damaged the long-term political stability of the Empire. The law "split the conservatives down the middle, one party faction backed the reforms of the Rio Branco cabinet, while the second—known as the escravocratas (English: slavocrats)—were unrelenting in their opposition", forming a new generation of ultraconservatives.

The "Law of Free Birth", and Pedro II's support for it, resulted in the loss of the ultraconservatives' unconditional loyalty to the monarchy. The Conservative Party had experienced serious divisions before, during the 1850s, when the Emperor's total support for the conciliation policy had given rise to the Progressives. The ultraconservatives led by Eusébio, Uruguai and Itaboraí who opposed conciliation in the 1850s had nonetheless believed that the Emperor was indispensable to the functioning of the political system: the Emperor was an ultimate and impartial arbiter when political deadlock threatened. By contrast, this new generation of ultraconservatives had not experienced the Regency and early years of Pedro II's reign, when external and internal dangers had threatened the Empire's very existence; they had only known prosperity, peace and a stable administration. To them—and to the ruling classes in general—the presence of a neutral monarch who could settle political disputes was no longer important. Furthermore, since Pedro II had clearly taken a political side on the slavery question, he had compromised his position as a neutral arbiter. The young ultraconservative politicians saw no reason to uphold or defend the Imperial office.

Paraguayan War

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 Uruguay 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, which ended on 20 February 1865.

Meanwhile, in December 1864 the dictator of Paraguay, Francisco Solano López took advantage of the situation to establish his country as a regional power. The Paraguayan army invaded the Brazilian province of Mato Grosso (currently the state of Mato Grosso do Sul), triggering the Paraguayan War. Four months later, Paraguayan troops invaded Argentine territory as a prelude to an attack upon the Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul.

Decline

The weaknesses in the monarchy took many years to become apparent. Brazil continued to prosper during the 1880s, with the economy and society both developing rapidly, including the first organized push for women's rights (which would progress slowly over the next decades). By contrast, letters written by Pedro II reveal a man grown world-weary with age, increasingly alienated from current events and pessimistic in outlook. He remained meticulous in performing his formal duties as Emperor, albeit often without enthusiasm, but he no longer actively intervened to maintain stability in the country. His increasing "indifference towards the fate of the regime" and his inaction to protect the imperial system once it came under threat have led historians to attribute the "prime, perhaps sole, responsibility" for the dissolution of the monarchy to the emperor himself.

The lack of an heir who could feasibly provide a new direction for the nation also threatened the long-term prospects for the Brazilian monarchy. The Emperor's heir was his eldest daughter, Isabel, who had no interest in, nor expectation of, becoming the monarch. Even though the Constitution allowed female succession to the throne, Brazil was still a very traditional, male-dominated society, and the prevailing view was that only a male monarch would be capable as head of state. Pedro II, the ruling circles and the wider political establishment all considered a female successor to be inappropriate, and Pedro II himself believed that the death of his two sons and the lack of a male heir were a sign that the Empire was destined to be supplanted.

A weary Emperor who no longer cared for the throne, an heir who had no desire to assume the crown, an increasingly discontented ruling class who were dismissive of the Imperial role in national affairs: all these factors presaged the monarchy's impending doom. The means to achieve the overthrow of the Imperial system would soon appear within the Army ranks. Republicanism had never flourished in Brazil outside of certain elitist circles, and had little support in the provinces. A growing combination of republican and Positivist ideals among the army's junior and mid-level officer ranks, however, began to form a serious threat to the monarchy. These officers favored a republican dictatorship, which they believed would be superior to the liberal democratic monarchy. Beginning with small acts of insubordination at the beginning of the 1880s, discontent in the army grew in scope and audacity during the decade, as the Emperor was uninterested and the politicians proved incapable of re-establishing the government's authority over the military.

The 1867 collapse of the French-sponsored Second Mexican Empire left Brazil the only Latin American monarchical regime for another 22 years.

Fall

The nation enjoyed considerable international prestige during the final years of the Empire and had become an emerging power in the international arena. While Pedro II was receiving medical treatment in Europe, the parliament passed, and Princess Isabel signed on 13 May 1888, the Golden Law, which completely abolished slavery in Brazil. Predictions of economic and labor disruption caused by the abolition of slavery proved to be unfounded. Nonetheless, the end of slavery was the final blow to any remaining belief in the crown's neutrality, and this resulted in an explicit shift of support to Republicanism by the ultraconservatives—themselves backed by rich and powerful coffee farmers who held great political, economic and social power in the country.

To avert a republican backlash, the government exploited the credit readily available to Brazil as a result of its prosperity to fuel further development. The government extended massive loans at favorable interest rates to plantation owners and lavishly granted titles and lesser honors to curry favor with influential political figures who had become disaffected. The government also indirectly began to address the problem of the recalcitrant military by revitalizing the moribund National Guard, by then an entity which existed mostly only on paper.

The measures taken by the government alarmed civilian republicans and the positivists in the military. The republicans saw that it would undercut support for their own aims, and were emboldened to further action. The reorganization of the National Guard was begun by the cabinet in August 1889, and the creation of a rival force caused the dissidents among the officer corps to consider desperate measures. For both groups, republicans and military, it had become a case of "now or never". Although there was no desire among the majority of Brazilians to change the country's form of government, republicans began pressuring army officers to overthrow the monarchy.

They launched a coup and instituted the republic on 15 November 1889. The few people who witnessed what occurred did not realize that it was a rebellion. Historian Lídia Besouchet noted that, "[r]arely has a revolution been so minor." Throughout the coup Pedro II showed no emotion, as if unconcerned about the outcome. He dismissed all suggestions put forward by politicians and military leaders for quelling the rebellion. The Emperor and his family were sent into exile on 17 November. Although there was significant monarchist reaction after the fall of the Empire, this was thoroughly suppressed, and neither Pedro II nor his daughter supported a restoration. Despite being unaware of the plans for a coup, once it occurred and in light of the Emperor's passive acceptance of the situation, the political establishment supported the end of the monarchy in favor of a republic. They were unaware that the goal of the coup leaders was the creation of a dictatorial republic rather than a presidential or parliamentary republic.

See also

 Empire of Brazil

Footnotes

References

Brazil
Brazil, Empire of


The economy of the Empire of Brazil was centered on the export of raw materials when the country became independent in 1822. The domestic market was small, due to lack of credit and the almost complete self-sustainability of the cities, villages and farms that dedicated themselves to food production and cattle herding. During the first half of the 19th century, the Imperial Government invested heavily in the improvement of roads while retaining an excellent system of ports. The former facilitated better commercial exchange and communication between the country's distant regions; the latter did the same for foreign trade.

The Brazilian economy was extremely diversified in the post-Independence period, but a great effort was required of the monarchical government to carry through the change from a purely colonial economic system based on slavery to a modern capitalist system. Until its end, the monarchy continued the notable economic growth that began with the arrival of Prince Regent John of Braganza in 1808. This was caused, in part, by the liberalism adopted by successive Government cabinets up to 1889 that favored the private initiative.

Economy

Currency

The unit of currency under the Empire (and until 1942) was the real ("royal"), plural réis, a name derived from the Portuguese real. It was usually called milréis (English: thousand royals), being written as 1$000. "A thousand milréis (1:000$000) was known as conto de réis." One conto de réis was represented by the symbol Rs written before the value and by a dollar sign separating the units group (lower than 1,000 réis). Thus, 350 réis was written as "Rs 350"; 1,712 réis as "Rs 1$712"; and 1,020,800 réis was written as "Rs 1:020$800". This means that the colon functioned as the millions comma and the $ sign as the thousands comma; the colon is the actual group separator, and the $ sign is used only for separating the smaller group of units.

Overview
For a country devoid of capital, economic improvement would require as much investment as possible in production for export. However, such a course was complicated by the almost complete lack of Brazilian manufactured products. This lack resulted in a considerable increase in importation, creating a continuous deficit. Most prominent among the imports were woven goods, wines, soaps, comestibles, and perfumes, amongst others. Until the 1850s, such items as coal, machinery, cement, iron, iron goods and iron tools represented 11% of the Brazilian imports from Great Britain. But the process of constant industrialization of Brazil would increase this percentage to 28% in 1889.

As the decades passed, new technologies appeared, and with the increase of the internal productivity, exports increased considerably, making it possible to reach the desired equilibrium in the balance of trade. During the 1820s, sugar constituted about 30% of total exports, while cotton constituted 21%, coffee 18% and leather and skins 14%. Twenty years later, coffee would reach 42%, sugar 27%, leather and skins 9%, and cotton 8% of the total exports. However, this did not mean a reduction in the production of these any of these items—in fact, the opposite occurred—but "it reflected a difference in the relative growth of these sectors". In this period of only twenty years, according to the historian Boris Fausto, "Brazilian exports had doubled in volume and had tripled in nominal value", while its value in pounds sterling increased by over 40%.

In the 1820s, Brazil exported 11,000 tons of cacao, while in 1880 this had increased to 73,500 tons. Between 1821 and 1825, it exported 41,174 tons of sugar and then it reached the level of 238,074 tons between 1881 and 1885. Up to 1850, rubber production was insignificant, but between 1881 and 1890, it reached the third place among Brazilian exports. It was about 81 tons between 1827 and 1830, and reached 1,632 tons in 1852. By 1900 the country had exported 24,301,452 tons of rubber. Brazil also exported around 3,377,000 tons of coffee between 1821 and 1860, while between 1861 and 1889 this reached 6,804,000 tons. Technological innovation also contributed to the growth of exports. The main reason for this was the adoption of steam navigation and railroads, which allowed transportation of cargoes to become much less onerous and much faster. The first railroad line in the coutry, with only 15 kilometers, was opened on 30 April 1854 when many European countries did not have one. In 1868 there were 718 kilometers of railroads lines. By the end of the Empire in 1889 it grew to 9,200 kilometers while another 9,000 kilometers were under construction.

The absolute value of the exports of the Empire in 1850 was the highest in Latin America (triple that of Argentina, which was in fourth place); Brazil would keep this position in this respect and in general economic terms until the end of the monarchy. Brazil's international trade, that is, the sum of both its imports and exports, amounted to a total value of Rs 79.000:000$000 between 1834 and 1839 and increased every year until it reached Rs 472.000:000$000 in 1886 (an annual growth of 3.88% since 1839). In 1859 the balance of payments between imports and exports reached equilibrium; exports gradually increased relative to imports, and the Empire's balance of trade became consistently positive from 1865 on. After 1874, the balance of payments became clearly favorable. Most Brazilian exports were agricultural goods. For comparison, between 1850 and 1900 agricultural goods constituted between 73% and 83% of the United States' total exports. Economic growth was perceived in the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which from circa 50.000:000$000 in 1840, reached a figure of 500.000:000$000 in 1889 (an annual growth rate of 4.81% since 1840). Brazilian economic growth, especially after 1850, compared "very well" with that of the United States and European countries, according to the historian Boris Fausto. In the last year of the monarchy, Brazil was a "prosperous and [internationally] respected" country, according to historian Oliveira Lima. Historian Heitor Lyra wrote that:

The Brazilian per capita income in 1880 was similar to the one of the United States and in 1890 was of $770 (in 1990 US dollars). To give an idea of the economic potential of the country during the Empire, if "it had been able to keep the level of productivity achieved in 1870 and managed to increase exports at a pace equal to the one verified in the second half of 19th century, its per capita income in 1950 would be comparable to the average per capita income the Western European countries, and the country would not have fallen so much behind the others". That is, at the beginning of the second half of the 20th century, the country would not only be richer, and the Brazilian people would have had a far higher standard of living than actually prevailed at that time. According to João de Scantimburgo, what "hindered the political, social and economical progress of Brazil was the First Republic [that began at the end of 1889], and its consequences stretched to the future".

The first republican government's disastrous financial policy caused an economic stagnation that lasted from 1890 up to 1930. The Empire of Brazil had a GDP almost 40% higher than the one of Argentina in 1890 ($11 billion compared to $7 billion in 1990 US dollars). By 1913, Argentina had the fourth greatest economy in the world, a GDP per capita equal to Germany and the Netherlands and higher than Spain, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Its GDP was 31% higher than Brazil's ($29 billion compared to $20 billion). The Brazilian economy would reach the Argentine economy only in the 1940s, more than 50 years after the end of the monarchy.

Agriculture
Agriculture held an extremely important role in Brazil under the Empire: 80% of the labor force was dedicated to the primary sector, 13% to tertiary sector and 7% to the secondary sector. In the rural area of the country, agriculture was done by the producers themselves (that is, without the use of slaves), supplying the local market. In the north and northeast regions cotton was cultivated, and small-to-medium-sized farms produced food for subsistence and for local markets. The great distances raised the cost of the transport, coupled with the taxes for interprovincial transit of goods, considerably restricted the capacity of distribution by the producers of the sectors related to the domestic market.

In the southeastern region the coffee production that at the beginning of independent Brazil amounted to only 3% of exports started to become more important for the Brazilian economy with each decade that passed, mainly because of extraordinary increase of consumers in the international market. The coffee farms were practically self-sustaining: they did not produce only coffee, but also food and clothes for the slaves, preventing the emergence of economic sectors to serve those markets. However, the suppression of the importation of slaves in 1850 (and the consequent rise in the price of slaves) compelled the producers to focus in the maintenance of manpower, to the detriment of self-sustainability. They sought means to limit the rising costs of production.

To remain competitive in the international market, agricultural producers modernized the production with governmental aid, adopting technical and technological innovations. In the north and northeast of the country, great centers called engenhos centrais ("central engines") were established for the processing of sugar cane, which revolutionized the traditional economy. These plants came to occupy the place of the old sugar cane mills that dated from the colonial period, effectively industrializing the sector.

At the coffee plantation regions the producers made the transition from the enslaved man power to the paid one, with the absorption of foreign immigrants who arrived at the thousands each year and of former slaves. The benefits were many, but the main one was the reduction of the production cost, as the sustenance of slaves revealed that were more onerous than the payment of wages of free workers. The province of São Paulo was the one that better reached success as it went from the old slavery economic system to the modern capitalist economic system. The province of Rio de Janeiro, however, revealed itself incapable of assimilating the new trends of the market, as it preferred to keep the use of enslaved man power until the end, which would eventually cause its economic collapse at the end of the Empire.

The imperial government was not limited to facilitate the credit for the purchase of modern equipment or the arrival of immigrants, but also diminished taxes to collaborate with the effort of modernization of the country's agricultural production. One of these measures occurred in 1874 when the Rio Branco cabinet fixed at 40% the custom house tax for all the imported goods (which would come to stimulate the national industry) at the same time as it created taxes for related importations of plants, seeds, roots, bulbs and mechanical devices with the intention of developing the agriculture.

Industry

Origins

Brazilian industry has its earliest origin in workshops dating from the beginning of the 19th century. Most of the country's industrial establishments appeared in the Brazilian southeast (mainly in the provinces of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and, later, São Paulo), and, according to the Commerce, Agriculture, Factories and Navigation Joint, 77 establishments registered between 1808 and 1840 were classified as “factories” or “manufacturers”. However, most, about 56 establishments, would be considered workshops by today's standards, directed toward the production of soap and candles of tallow, snuff tobacco, spinning and weaving, foods, melting of iron and metals, wool and silk, amongst others. They used both slaves and free laborers.

There were twenty establishments that could be considered in fact manufacturers, and of this total, thirteen were created between the years 1831 and 1840. All were, however, of small size and more resembled large workshops than proper factories. Still, the manufactured goods were quite diverse: hats, combs, farriery and sawmills, spinning and weaving, soap and candles, glasses, carpets, oil, etc. Probably because of the instability of the regency period, only nine of these establishments were still functioning in 1841, but these nine were of great size and could be considered to “presage a new era for manufactures”. The advent of real manufacturing before the 1840s was extremely limited, due to the self-sufficiency of the regions of the country (mainly farms producing coffee and sugar cane, which produced their own food, clothes, equipment, etc.), the lack of capital, and high costs of production that made it impossible for national manufactures to compete with foreign products. Costs were high because most of the raw materials were imported, even though some of the plants already used machines.

Growth
The promulgation of the Alves Branco tariff would modify this picture. This tariff succeeded in increasing State revenues and stimulating growth of national industry. The sudden proliferation of capital was directed to investments in the areas of urban services, transports, commerce, banks, industries, etc. Most of the capital invested in industries was directed toward textiles. With unprecedented industrial growth, multiple manufacturing establishments appeared, dedicated to such diverse products as melting of iron and metal, machinery, soap and candles, glasses, beer, vinegar, gallons of gold and silver, shoes, hats and cotton fabric.

One of the main establishments created at this period was the metallurgical factory Ponta da Areia (In English: Sand Tip), in the city of Niterói, that also constructed steamships. It is likely that the textile industry benefited most by the virtue of being the oldest in the country. It first appeared in 1826, in the city of Recife, capital of the province of Pernambuco. The textile sector was quite dynamic in the monarchic period and received large investments until 1890, when it entered into decline. Various modernizations occurred, principally between 1840 and 1860, when factories with a high level of technological capability were created, able to compete with other major international centers. Other improvements came with the establishment of factories and forges geared for the production of equipment and pieces for textile manufacture. Moreover, Ready-made clothing is a major commodity group in the Brazilian exports of textile and garment industry its share is $742 million, or 35% of the total volume of exported manufactured goods. The concentration of industry that emerged in the province of Bahia considerably expanded its economic scope, reaching the south of Ceará, Piauí and even Minas Gerais.

The extinction of the traffic in African slaves in 1850, contrary to what many authors allege, did not "liberate" credit for industrial development. That claim has no documentary basis whatever. On the contrary, capital employed in the trade was had already been directed to sectors such as enterprises of urban services, transport, banking and trade. But it is possible that there was an indirect contribution to the growth of the industrial sector through banking loans. In 1850, there were 50 factories with a capital of at least Rs 7.000:000$000.

The imperial government created several incentives for the industrialization of the country. The earliest of these date from the reign of Dom Pedro I, through awards of government grants. The first establishment to receive such a grant was the Fábrica das Chitas (In English: Chitas Factory), devoted to paper and printing, by a decree of 26 June 1826. The practice was resumed in the 1840s, when new industrial establishments received subsidies. in 1857, seven factories benefited from this practice of incentives, among them, the Ponta da Areia mentioned above and that was owned by Irineu Evangelista de Sousa (later Viscount of Mauá). One of the criteria for the granting of these subsidies was the exclusive employment of free workers.

The goal, then, was not only the transition from the old colonial economic system to that of the modern capitalist, but also from slave labor to free. Other incentives arose, such as the decree of 8 August 1846 that exempted manufactured products from certain transport taxes (internally as well as externally), shielded from military recruitment a determinate number of employees of industrial establishments and eliminated tariffs on parts and machinery imported for textile factories. The following year in June, a new decree stated that all industrial establishments on national soil would be free of taxes on imported raw materials. Thus, production costs of domestic industry dropped considerably, allowing it to compete with foreign products. The Alves Branco tariff underwent modification in 1857, reducing to 15% the tax on imported products. Later, under the Rio Branco cabinet at the beginning of the 1870s, the tariff on foreign products was newly raised to 40%, and new raw materials were exempted from import taxes.

Expansion

At the end of the 1860s, came a new industrial surge caused by two armed conflicts: the American Civil War and the Paraguayan War. Because of the first, U.S. production of cotton was interrupted by the blockade of the Union forces against the Confederacy. The second resulted in the emission of currency and an increase in import tariffs to cover the costs of war. This resulted in a great stimulus not only for the textile industry, but also for other sector, such as chemicals, cigars, glass, paper, leather, and optical and nautical instruments. During the 1870s, thanks to the decline of the coffee region of the Paraíba Valley and some areas of sugar production, many owners of plantations invested not only in the cotton textile industry, but also in other manufacturing sectors. Deployment of a railway network throughout the national territory also stimulated the emergence of new industrial activities, mainly in São Paulo. Industry also experienced a major impetus in this period. From the 1870s onward, the great expansion of industrialization became a constant in Brazil. In 1866, there were 9 textile factories with 795 workers. In 1881, there were 46 textile factories through the country: 12 in Bahia; 11 in Rio de Janeiro; 9 in São Paulo; 9 in Minas Gerais; and 5 in other provinces. The number of establishments diminished a little by 1885 to 42 textile factories with 3,172 workers. However, it did not harm the overall growth in the sector up to 1889.

In 1880 the Industrial Association was established, with its first board elected the following year. The Association supported new industrial incentives and propagandized against the defenders of an essentially agricultural Brazil. 9.6% of the capital of the Brazilian economy was directed toward industry by 1884, and by 1885, 11.2%. This figure dropped sharply during the republican period, falling to 5% between 1895 and 1899, and improving slightly to 6% between 1900 and 1904. Still, it would take many years to return to the level that prevailed during the Empire. At the time of its downfall in 1889, monarchical Brazil had 636 factories (representing an annual rate of increase of 6.74% from 1850) with a capital of Rs 401.630:600$000 (annual growth rate of 10.94% since 1850). Of this amount, 60% were employed in the textile sector, 15% in food, 10% in the chemical, 4% in timber, 3.5% in clothing and 3% in metallurgy.

See also

 Empire of Brazil
 Economic history of Brazil
 Industrialisation

References

Citations

Bibliography

Enciclopédia Barsa. Volume 4: Batráquio – Camarão, Filipe. Rio de Janeiro: Encyclopædia Britannica do Brasil, 1987.


The Armed Forces of the Empire of Brazil were the overall unified military forces of the Empire of Brazil. The Brazilian military was first formed by Emperor Dom Pedro I to defend the new nation against the Portuguese in the Brazilian War of Independence. The Army and Armada (as the Navy was called) were commissioned in 1822 with the objective of defeating and expelling the Portuguese troops from Brazilian soil.

From the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the Empire of Brazil. A sense of national unity and identity was forged out of the victorious Paraguayan War. The Emperor was commander-in-chief of the military, with the Ministries of War and Navy as the main organs by which military policy was carried out.

Organization

The Imperial Armed Forces were subordinated to the emperor, its commander-in-chief. He was aided by the ministers of War and Navy in regard to matters concerning the Army and the Armada (Navy), respectively. Traditionally, the ministers of War and Navy were civilians but there were some exceptions. The model chosen was the British parliamentary or Anglo-American system, in which "the country's Armed Forces observed unrestricted obedience to the civilian government while maintaining distance from political decisions and decisions referring to borders' security".

Recruitment

The recruitment for the Armed forces of the Empire of Brazil, generally considered the imposition of a strong state on a recalcitrant society, was shaped by a complex network of patron-client relationships between the State, the members of the plantation class, and the free poor. These well-established (and in general legitime) relationships survived the challenges of recruitment in times of war and prevented reformers from establishing a system of conscription that was regular and fair.

Armada

Early years, 1822–31

The National Armada (later known as the Brazilian Navy), informally known as Imperial Armada, appeared with the independence of the country. The Armada was formed almost entirely by ships, staff, organizations and doctrines proceeding from the transference of the Portuguese Royal Family in 1808. Some of its members were native-born Brazilians, who under Portugal had been forbidden to serve. Other members were Portuguese who adhered to the cause of separation and foreign mercenaries. Some establishments created by King João VI of Portugal were used and incorporated such as the Department of Navy, Headquarters of the Navy, the Intendancy and Accounting Department, the Arsenal (Shipyard) of the Navy, the Academy of Navy Guards, the Naval Hospital, the Auditorship, the Supreme Military Council, the powder plant, and others. The Brazilian-born Captain Luís da Cunha Moreira was chosen as the first minister of the Navy on 28 October 1822.

Britisher Lord Thomas Alexander Cochrane was nominated the commander of the Brazilian Armada and received the rank of "First Admiral". At that time, the fleet was composed of one ship of the line, four frigates, and smaller ships for a total of 38 warships. The Secretary of Treasury Martim Francisco Ribeiro de Andrada created a national subscription to generate capital in order to increase the size of the fleet. Contributions were sent from all over Brazil. Even the Emperor Dom Pedro I acquired a merchant brig at his own expense (that was renamed "Caboclo") and donated it to the State. The navy fought in the north and also south of Brazil where it had a decisive role in the independence of the country.

After the suppression of the revolt in Pernambuco in 1824 and prior to the Cisplatine War, the navy increased significantly in size and strength. Starting with 38 ships in 1822, eventually the navy had 96 modern warships of various types with over 690 cannons. The Armada blocked the estuary of the Rio de la Plata hindering the contact of the United Provinces (as Argentina was then called) with the Cisplatine rebels and the outside world. Several battles had occurred between Brazilian and Argentine ships until the defeat of an Argentine flotilla composed of two corvettes, five brigs and one barquentine near the Island of Santiago in 1827. When Pedro I abdicated in 1831, he left a powerful navy made up of two ships of the line and ten frigates in addition to corvettes, steamships, and other ships for a total of at least 80 warships in peacetime.

Quelling rebellions, 1831–49

During the 58-year reign of Dom Pedro II the Brazilian Navy achieved its greatest strength in relation to navies around the world. The Arsenal, Navy department, and the Naval Jail were improved and the Imperial Mariner Corps (formed then by volunteers) was created. Steam navigation was definitively adopted. Brazil quickly modernized the fleet acquiring ships from foreign sources while also constructing others locally. Brazil's Navy substituted the old smoothbore cannons for new ones with rifled barrels, which were more accurate and had longer ranges. Improvements were also made in the Arsenals (shipyards) and naval bases, which were equipped with new workshops.
Ships were constructed in the Arsenal of the Navy in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife, Santos, Niterói and Pelotas. The Armada also successfully fought against all revolts that occurred during the Regency (where it made blockades and transported the Army troops) including: Cabanagem, Ragamuffin War, Sabinada, Balaiada, amongst others.

When Emperor Pedro II was declared of legal age and assumed his constitutional prerogatives in 1840, the Armada had over 90 warships: six frigates, seven corvettes, two barque-schooners, six brigs, eight brig-schooners, 16 gunboats, 12 schooners, seven armed brigantine-schooners, six steam barques, three transport ships, two armed luggers, two cutters and thirteen larger boats.

During the 1850s the State Secretary, the Accounting Department of the Navy, the Headquarters of the Navy and the Naval Academy were reorganized and improved. New ships were purchased and the ports administrations were better equipped. The Imperial Mariner Corps was definitively regularized and the Marine Corps was created, taking the place of the Naval Artillery. The Service of Assistance for Invalids was also established, along with several schools for sailors and craftsmen.

Platine Wars, 1849–70

The conflicts in the Platine region did not cease after the war of 1825. The anarchy caused by the despotic Rosas and his desire to subdue Bolívia, Uruguay and Paraguay forced Brazil to intercede. The Brazilian Government sent a naval force of 17 warships (a ship of the line, 10 corvettes and six steamships) commanded by the veteran John Pascoe Grenfell. The Brazilian fleet succeeded in passing through the Argentine line of defence in The Tonelero Pass under heavy attack and transported the troops to the theater of operations. The Brazilian Armada had a total of 59 vessels of various types in 1851: 36 armed sailing ships, 10 armed steamships, seven unarmed sailing ships and six sailing transports.

More than a decade later the Armada was once again modernized and its fleet of old sailing ships was converted to a fleet of 40 steamships armed with more than 250 cannons. In 1864 the navy fought in the Uruguayan War and immediately afterwards in the Paraguayan War where it annihilated the Paraguayan navy in the Battle of Riachuelo. The navy was further augmented with the acquisition of 20 ironclads and six fluvial monitors. At least 9,177 navy personnel fought in the five years' conflict. Brazilian naval constructors such as Napoleão Level, Trajano de Carvalho and João Cândido Brasil planned new concepts for warships that allowed the country's Arsenals to retain their competitiveness with other nations. All damage suffered by ships was repaired and various improvements were made to the ships. In 1870, Brazil had 94 modern warships and had the fifth most powerful navy in the world.

Final years, 1870–89

During the 1870s, the Brazilian Government strengthened the navy as the possibility of a war against Argentina over Paraguay's future became quite real. Thus, it acquired a gunboat and a corvette in 1873; an ironclad and a monitor in 1874; and immediately afterwards two cruisers and another monitor. The improvement of the Armada continued during the 1880s. The Arsenals of the Navy in the provinces of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Pernambuco, Pará and Mato Grosso continued to build dozens of warships. Also, four torpedo boats were purchased.

On 30 November 1883, the Practical School of Torpedoes was created along with a workshop devoted to constructing and repairing torpedoes and electric devices in the Arsenal of Navy of Rio de Janeiro. This Arsenal constructed four steam gunboats and one schooner, all with iron and steel hulls (the first of these categories constructed in the country). The Imperial Armada reached its apex with the incorporation of the ironclad battleships Riachuelo and Aquidabã (both equipped with torpedo launchers) in 1884 and 1885, respectively. Both ships (considered state-of-the-art by experts from Europe) allowed the Brazilian Armada to retain its position as one of the most powerful naval forces. By 1889, the navy had 60 warships and was the fifth or sixth most powerful navy in the world.

In the last cabinet of the monarchic regime, the Minister of the Navy, Admiral José da Costa Azevedo (the Baron of Ladário), left the reorganization and modernization of the navy unfinished. The coup that ended the monarchy in Brazil in 1889 was not well accepted by the personnel of the Armada. Imperial Mariners were attacked when they tried to support the imprisoned Emperor in the City Palace. The Marquis of Tamandaré begged Pedro II to allow him to fight back the coup; however, the Emperor refused to allow any bloodshed. Tamandaré would later be imprisoned by order of the dictator Floriano Peixoto under the accusation of financing the monarchist military in the Federalist Revolution.

The Baron of Ladário remained in contact with the exiled Imperial Family, hoping to restore the monarchy, but ended up ostracized by the republican government. Admiral Saldanha da Gama led the Revolt of the Armada with the objective of restoring the Empire and allied himself with other monarchists who were fighting in the Federalist Revolution. However, all the attempts at restoration were violently crushed. High ranking Monarchist officers were imprisoned, banished or executed by firing squad without due process of law and their subordinates also suffered harsh punishments.

Gallery

Example of vessels commissioned during this period:

Army

Early years, 1822–31
The National Army, or Imperial Army during the monarchy, was divided into two branches: the 1st Line, which was the Army itself; and the 2nd Line, which was formed by the Militias and Orderlies inherited from the colonial times. When the Portuguese military in the provinces of the Bahia, Maranhão, Pará and Cisplatine refused to join the Independence cause, Emperor Pedro I reorganized the troops at his disposal for the imminent conflict. Most of the personnel stationed in the country remained loyal to the monarch, who made use of troops, equipment and forts for the war operations. The terrestrial force efficiently fought in the north and the south of Brazil, defeating the loyal troops of Portugal. In 1824 the Army of the 1st Line included 24,000 men, who were disciplined, trained and equipped just as well as European equivalents. At the end of the war of Independence, the Brazilian Armed Forces were already well organized and equipped. This occurred mainly because Pedro I heavily supported the Army. In the same year a battalion was sent to Pernambuco where it successfully quelled the revolt of the Confederation of the Equator.

Army officers' training was completed in the Military Academy (now Academia Militar de Agulhas Negras, also the only engineering school in Brazil up to 1874), although it was not obligatory for personnel to study there to advance in the profession. Personnel from the infantry and cavalry branches only needed to study the disciplines of the 1st year (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and technical drawing) and 5th year (tactical, strategy, camping, fortification in campaign, terrain reconnaissance and chemistry). Engineers and artillerymen were obliged to study the complete course, which resulted in their branches being considered the most prestigious. However, if they preferred, infantrymen and cavalrymen were allowed to study the disciplines of the 2nd year (algebra, geometry, analytical geometry, differential and integral calculus, descriptive geometry and technical drawing); 3rd year (mechanics, ballistics and technical drawing); 4th year (spherical trigonometry, physics, astronomy, geodesy, geography and technical drawing); 6th year (regular and irregular fortification, attacking and defending strongholds, civil architecture, roads, ports, canals, mineralogy and technical drawing); and 7th year (artillery, mines and natural history).

The Empire declared war against the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (now Argentina) in 1825 because that nation was aiding the secessionist revolt of the Brazilian province of Cisplatine. The Argentine and the Cisplatine secessionist troops made use of guerrilla tactics that prevented the much stronger Brazilian Army (1st Line with 27,242 men and 2nd Line with 95,000) from delivering an overwhelming blow against its enemies. By the end of the conflict more than 8,000 Brazilians had died and the esteem associated with a career in the military declined. In the aftermath, the military blamed the Emperor for not being able to convince the Parliament to allow more financial aid to purchase equipment, munitions and provisions, while the liberals, on the other hand, considered the monarch responsible for the high costs of the conflict.

Quelling rebellions, 1831–49

Pedro I's abdication resulted in the reduction of the size of the Army contingent. The liberals were against the Army for ideological and economic reasons. Their objective was to prevent any possibility of return to Brazil by Pedro I, so they weakened one of the institutions most connected to the former Emperor. Some battalions were dissolved while others were transferred to distant provinces. Most of the soldiers were discharged; enlistment was suspended and the promotion of any officer was forbidden. On 30 August 1831, the liberal regency reduced the Army to fewer than 10,000 men. Later reductions left only 6,000 soldiers. The battalions formed by mercenaries were also disbanded.

With the intention of assisting the smaller Army, the Government created the National Guard on 18 August 1831. The new institution would substitute for the old Militias and Orderlies that were extinguished at the same time. The National Guard was composed of all male Brazilians who had an annual income superior to Rs 200$000 (the same value as an elector). The majority of the male population had to meet certain conditions to be part of the National Guard: someone who worked as a craftsman or clerk satisfied the minimum requirements. Even the "ingenuous" (free children of slaves or ex-slaves) were allowed to enlist in the force. The Guard's members were not remunerated and, except for weapons which the Government supplied, the members had to pay all expenses related to uniforms and equipment. However, the Guard's members had little if any military skill and they were completely inadequate for the wars of the Industrial Age. The Guard did not have permanent troops nor barracks for lodging troops. In war times the National Guard was incorporated into the Army of 1st Line and it was, for all effects, a reserve force of the Imperial Army.

The results of the Liberal's policy towards the Army were soon felt. The Government was incapable of fighting the rebellions that occurred in the country during the second half of the 1830s. The election of the conservative Pedro de Araújo Lima for the office of regent in 1837 completely changed the situation. The Conservative Party restored the Army, reorganized and reequipped its ranks, and increased its size to 18,000 men. The Imperial Army achieved several victories over the provincial revolts, including: Cabanagem, Sabinada, Ragamuffin War, among others. At the beginning of the 1840s a new reorganization of the Army gave it more cohesion and made it more capable.

Platine Wars, 1849–70

In 1845 the Military College (originally known as the Military Academy) was divided into two-halves: one half retained the name "Military College" and the other half became the Central College. A new reform (Decree nº 585) on 6 September 1850, considerably improved the quality of the officers of the Imperial Army. From then on, progression in a soldier's military career would occur through antiquity, merit and academic resume, beyond a clear preference for the personnel who completed the Military College over the ones who did not. On 20 September 1851, the conservative cabinet created a branch of the Military College in Porto Alegre. The Porto Alegre college location provided courses in infantry and cavalry, including disciplines taken from the 1st and 5th years of study. The National Guard was reorganized in the same month and became subordinate directly to the Minister of Justice, instead of to the locally elected Judges of Peace. In 1851 the Imperial Army was composed of more than 37,000 men and participated in the Platine War, in which it defeated the Argentine Confederation with the contribution of Uruguayan troops and Argentine rebels.

The Uruguayan War (which was followed by the Paraguayan War) revealed the complete neglect subjected on the Imperial Army after 1852. The Army did not have enough equipment, ammunition, uniforms or transportation. With only 18,000 men in 1864 it was necessary to search for reserve forces to collaborate with the war effort. In 1864 the National Guard enrollment was 440,000 men. In spite of the impressive numbers, the Guard's military potential was considerably reduced by their lack of training and equipment and the resistance by most Guard members to deployment to the theater of operations. From then on the National Guard would be gradually put aside in favor of the Army. The Fatherland Volunteer Corps was created on 7 January 1865. The Corps received volunteer and conscripted Brazilians. The nomination of the Marquis of Caxias as the commander of the Imperial Army in the middle of 1866 put an end to the anarchy. In 1865 18,000 men were deployed in enemy territory. This number grew to 67,365 in 1866; 71,039 in 1867; and finally 82,271 in 1869.

The Marquis of Caxias reorganized the troops who received uniforms, equipment and weapons equal in quality to those of the Prussian Army. The health service of the Armed Forces was inferior to American Civil War health care, but was superior to Crimean War health programs. The armed conflict lasted for more than five years and cost the lives of 50,000 Brazilians. However, the Empire attained victory and maintained its supremacy over the rest of South America. The Imperial Army mobilized 154,996 men for the war, divided into the following categories: 10,025 Army personnel who were in Uruguay in 1864; 2,047 in the province of Mato Grosso; 55,985 Fatherland Volunteers; 60,009 National Guardsmen; 8,570 ex-slaves; and an additional 18,000 National Guardsmen who remained in Brazil to defend their homeland.

Final years, 1870–89

In 1873, the role of the National Guard was restricted when it was decided that the Guard would no longer act as a police force. As a result, the National Guard effectively became a reserve force of the Army. However, its definitive dissolution did not occur until 1918. In 1874 the Polytechnical College of Rio de Janeiro was created from the Military School. The new college focused on the provision of civil engineering courses. For the 1873–74 fiscal year, the Government allocated about 27 percent of the budget for the Army and the Armada.

A new generation of turbulent and undisciplined military personnel began to appear at the beginning of the 1880s, because the old monarchist officers, such as Luis Alves de Lima e Silva (Duke of Caxias), Polidoro da Fonseca Quintanilha Jordão (Viscount of Santa Teresa), Antônio de Sampaio, Manuel Marques de Sousa (Count of Porto Alegre) and Manuel Luis Osório (Marquis of Herval) were dead. In an Army with only 13,000 men, 7,526 were sent to jail in 1884 for bad behavior. The cadets in the Military College learned about Positivism and discussed politics while completely ignoring military matters. These men advocated the establishment of a military dictatorship. In 1882, Army military officers murdered a journalist in broad day light when he criticized the behavior of the Army. The murder went unpunished. The republicans stimulated the undisciplined behavior of these personnel during 1887 and 1888 by alleging a lack of attention and consideration on the part of the Government towards the Army.

On 15 November 1889, the monarchy was overthrown by Army troops led by Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca who became the leader of the first Brazilian dictatorship. Marshal Câmara (Viscount of Pelotas), affirmed that about 20 percent of the Imperial Army supported the coup. In the following days several battalions of the Army, which were spread across the country, fought against republican forces with the intention of stopping the coup. In Desterro (now Florianópolis), the 25th Infantry Battalion attacked the Republican Club on 17 November 1889. A month later on 18 December, in Rio de Janeiro, the 2nd Artillery Regiment tried to restore the monarchy. In 1893, Monarchist soldiers participated in the Federalist Revolution with the intention of restoring the Empire. The Monarchists who did not die in battle were imprisoned, deported or murdered.

See also

 List of generals of the Empire of Brazil
 Military history of Brazil
 List of wars involving Brazil

Footnotes

References

 Brazilian Constitution of 1824.
 Bueno, Eduardo. Brasil: uma História. São Paulo: Ática, 2003.
 Calmon, Pedro. História de D. Pedro II. Rio de Janeiro: J. Olympio, 1975.
 Calmon, Pedro. História da Civilização Brasileira. Brasília: Senado Federal, 2002.
 Carvalho, Affonso. Caxias. Brasília: Biblioteca do Exército, 1976.
 Carvalho, José Murilo de. Os Bestializados: o Rio de Janeiro e a República que não foi. 3. ed. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1996.
 Carvalho, José Murilo de. D. Pedro II. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2007.
 Costa, Wilma Peres. A Espada de Dâmocles. São Paulo: HUCITEC, 1996.
 Doratioto, Francisco. O conflito com o Paraguai: A grande guerra do Brasil. São Paulo: Ática, 1996.
 Doratioto, Francisco. Maldita Guerra: Nova história da Guerra do Paraguai. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2002.
 Holanda, Sérgio Buarque de. História Geral da Civilização Brasileira: Declínio e Queda do Império (2a. ed.). São Paulo: Difusão Européia do Livro, 1974.
 Janotti, Maria de Lourdes Mônaco. Os Subversivos da República. São Paulo: Brasiliense, 1986.
 Lima, Manuel de Oliveira. O Império brasileiro. São Paulo: USP, 1989.
 Lyra, Heitor. História de Dom Pedro II (1825–1891): Declínio (1880–1891). v.3. Belo Horizonte: Itatiaia, 1977.
 Lustosa, Isabel. D. Pedro I. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2007.
 Maia, Prado. A Marinha de Guerra do Brasil na Colônia e no Império (2a. ed.). Rio de Janeiro: Cátedra, 1975.
 Nabuco, Joaquim. Um Estadista do Império. Volume único. 4 ed. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Aguilar, 1975.
 Nassif, Luís. Os cabeças-de-planilha. 2. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Ediouro, 2007.
 Pedrosa, J. F. Maya. A Catástrofe dos Erros. Rio de Janeiro: Biblioteca do Exército, 2004.
 Salles, Ricardo. Guerra do Paraguai: Memórias & Imagens. Rio de Janeiro: Bibilioteca Nacional, 2003.
 Salles, Ricardo. Nostalgia Imperial. Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks, 1996.
 Schwarcz, Lilia Moritz. As Barbas do Imperador: D. Pedro II, um monarca nos trópicos. 2. ed. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2002.
 Souza, Adriana Barreto de. Duque de Caxias: o homem por trás do monumento. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2008.
 Vainfas, Ronaldo. Dicionário do Brasil Imperial. Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, 2002.
 Versen, Max von. História da Guerra do Paraguai. Belo Horizonte: Itatiaia, 1976.
 Vianna, Hélio. História do Brasil: período colonial, monarquia e república, 15. ed. São Paulo: Melhoramentos, 1994.
 Kraay, Hendrik. Reconsidering Recruitment in Imperial Brazil, The Américas, v. 55, n. 1: 1-33, jul. 1998.

External links
 Brazilian Army official website
 Brazilian Navy official website
 Military Orders and Medals from Brazil
 South American Military History

Armed Forces of the Empire of Brazil
Military of the Empire of Brazil


Otto Lington (5 August 1903 - 15 December 1992) was a Danish composer, bandleader and violinist.  Lington was a pioneer of jazz and bandleader for Shirley Bassey, Josephine Baker, and Fats Waller among many others.  Lington is the grandfather of saxophonist Michael Lington.

1903 births
1992 deaths
Male composers
Danish violinists
Male violinists
20th-century violinists
20th-century Danish composers
20th-century Danish male musicians


Saša Bakarić (born 18 March 1987) is a Slovenian footballer who plays for Austrian club SC Kappel.

Club career
After a lengthy spell at hometown club Celje, Bakarić moved abroad to play in the Austrian lower leagues.

References

External links
NZS profile

1987 births
Living people
Footballers from Celje
Men's association football midfielders
Men's association football fullbacks
Slovenian men's footballers
Slovenia men's youth international footballers
Slovenia men's under-21 international footballers
NK Celje players
NK Zagorje players
NK Rudar Velenje players
Slovenian PrvaLiga players
Slovenian Second League players
Austrian Landesliga players
Austrian 2. Landesliga players
Slovenian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Austria
Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Austria


Prisma is a satellite project led by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) which consist of two satellites that fly in formation. Prisma is operated in collaboration with CNES, the French space agency, which provides the radiofrequency metrology system that enables the satellites to fly in close formation while autonomously avoiding collisions.

It was launched, along with the PICARD spacecraft, on 15 June 2010 on a Dnepr launcher from Dombarovskiy Cosmodrome, near Yasny, Russia. Its primary objective is to test autonomous formation flying.  A secondary objective was to flight test a new monopropellant thruster using ammonium dinitramide (ADN) propellant.

On 12 August 2010, SSC reported that the two satellites, called Mango and Tango, had separated from each other for the first time.

References

External links

Prisma Satellites
About Prisma

Space programme of Sweden
Spacecraft launched in 2010
Spacecraft launched by Dnepr rockets


Antonijo Pranjič (born 14 January 1985) is a Slovenian football defender.

See also
Football in Slovenia
List of football clubs in Slovenia

References

External links
Profile at Prvaliga.si

Slovenian men's footballers
Living people
1985 births
Men's association football defenders


Bojan Stepanović (; born January 11, 1983) is a Serbian footballer who played as a midfielder.

Career

Europe
Born in Belgrade, in the Yugoslavia prior to the country's breakup in the Yugoslav wars, Stepanović spent his early career playing in his native Serbia. He was a member of the youth setup at Radnički Beograd, and played for Radnički's first team in the First League of Serbia and Montenegro in 2004. He later went on to play for Voždovac in the 2005–06 Serbia and Montenegro SuperLiga, and for Srem in the Serbian First League (Serbian second tier) from 2007 to 2009.

North America
Stepanović was signed by Chivas USA on March 27, 2009, after impressing head coach Preki during a month-long trial, in which he played in several pre-season friendlies. He made his Major League Soccer debut on March 29, 2009, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute in a 2-0 away win over FC Dallas. He scored six minutes into his debut appearance.

Stepanović was waived by Chivas USA on January 26, 2010. In 2014, he signed with Burlington SC of the Canadian Soccer League, where he played for two seasons. In 2016, he remained in the CSL and signed with Brantford Galaxy, where he appeared in 21 matches with 5 goals.

References

External links
 MLS player profile
 Short career story at Tribalfootball

1983 births
Living people
Footballers from Belgrade
Serbian men's footballers
Serbian expatriate men's footballers
FK Voždovac players
FK Srem players
Chivas USA players
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
NK Drava Ptuj (1933) players
Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia
Men's association football midfielders
Major League Soccer players
FK Timok players
Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players
Brantford Galaxy players
Halton United players


Sturisomatichthys aureum, also known by several common names, including whiptail (English), Gylden Størmalle (Danish), Helikoptermal (Swedish), and Stoerwels (German), is a species of armored catfish endemic to Colombia. It grows to a length of  in standard length. The species can be found in the aquarium trade. Its specific name, aureus, refers to its coloration, which can appear golden.

Distribution
Sturisomatichthys aureum occurs in the Magdalena, San Jorge and Cesar River basins, along with their tributaries. It is believed to be replaced downstream by another Sturisoma species.

References

Harttiini
Endemic fauna of Colombia
Freshwater fish of Colombia
Fish of the Andes
Magdalena River
Taxa named by Franz Steindachner
Fish described in 1900


Sturisoma barbatum is a species of armored catfish native to Argentina and Brazil where it is found in the Paraguay River basin with reports that it can also be found in the Paraná and Uruguay River basins.  This species grows to a length of  SL.

References

Sturisoma
Fish of South America
Fish of Argentina
Fish of Brazil
Fish described in 1853


Sturisoma brevirostre is a species of armored catfish endemic to Brazil where it is found in the Içá River basin.  This species grows to a length of  SL.

References

Sturisoma
Endemic fauna of Brazil
Fish of Brazil
Fish of South America
Fish described in 1889