On November 15, 1889, Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca, a military figure and politician, declared the Republic of Brazil through a coup d’état. As the first president in the country’s history, his tenure was marked by considerable political and economic instability.
Many reasons led to the coup d’état in 1889, and it is no secret that Dom Pedro II was the greatest statesman Brazil ever had. He spoke multiple languages, was highly educated, and had a penchant for innovation and technology. At the international fair in the United States, he was the one who received the first telephone call from Graham Bell, drawing the world’s attention to this great inventor. He was someone who loved inventions.
The last cabinet of the Brazilian Empire appointed Floriano Peixoto (1839-1895), a distinguished soldier and veteran of the Paraguayan War, to the position of army adjutant-general. He was originally from Alagoas and had a strong association with the Liberal Party. Like Deodoro, he had participated extensively in the campaign against Lopez. He returned as a lieutenant colonel.
The book The History of Brazil through its Constitutions is a comprehensive and fascinating work that traces Brazil’s trajectory from its colonial period to contemporary times, with a special focus on the different constitutions that shaped the country’s political and legal organization throughout the centuries.
Written by Rodrigo Saraiva Marinho, the book offers a profound and detailed analysis of each of the main Brazilian constitutions, revealing the social, political, and economic contexts that drove their creation and the changes they brought to Brazilian society.
Positivism was a philosophical and social movement that exerted significant influence on various aspects of Brazil’s history, including the creation of its national flag. This ideology emerged in the 19th century, amidst significant social and political changes, and had the French thinker Auguste Comte as one of its main proponents.
Positivism preaches the idea that knowledge can only be obtained through empirical and scientific observation, valuing the scientific method as the primary means of understanding the world and society. Additionally, this philosophical movement upholds the notion of social progress based on a positive hierarchy of values, placing order and development as fundamental for the advancement of humanity.
Eduardo Paulo da Silva Prado (São Paulo, 1860 – São Paulo, 1901), better known as Eduardo Prado, was one of the most notable Brazilian writers and political analysts. He was a founding member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, a contributor to the work “Le Brésil” – published in 1889 on the occasion of the International Exhibition of Paris – and a friend of Barão do Rio Branco and the Portuguese writer Eça de Queirós.
