By Pablo P. S. Romero*
A record search carried out in 2021 in the archives of Al Ahram – Egypt’s leading newspaper – revealed a publication of great historical interest: The earliest reference to Brazil appears in the first page of the edition of November 19, 1889, in Arabic, on the occasion of the Proclamation of the Republic. The news, which had reached Cairo by telegraphy, caught the Egyptian public attention and led to the publication of an account of historiographical importance of Brazil in the late nineteenth century, although the fidelity to the facts is only approximate.
Under the title “Brazil,” the news starts with a brief account of the “levant of the military garrison in the country’s capital city that overthrew the government, substituting it with a republican-based administration.” Addressing readers that were curious about the South American nation, the text gives an overview on the geography, natural riches, social fabric, political system, and particularly the history of the formation of the recently independent country.
When describing the vast territory and the geographical particularities of Brazil, the text mentions the long borders, “which are still not demarcated, except on the South front,” mentioning the fact that “seventy percent of the territory holds forests and uncultivated land, while only ten percent of the Brazilian land would be conductive to agriculture.” This situation doesn’t prevent the author from getting impressed with the “great riches,” such as minerals, agricultural and forest products, as well as herds and wild animals. The Egyptian account estimates a population of ten million residents in 1865’s Brazil, “a million and a half being enslaved people, except for independent indigenous peoples who move around, most of them living in the region of the Amazon River.” It goes on to say that it wouldn’t take long for this “great people to reach success and progress,” highlighting efforts undertaken by emperor Dom Pedro II for fostering the development of his subjects.
Brazil is described as a “hereditary constitutional monarchy” divided into provinces led by governors and with “entirely different [legislations], linked together by ties of solidarity, ruled by a single head: The emperor.” The “absolute authority,” however, was vested in the congressmen, who ruled a country “where no legislative or constitutional change can be made.” The author also covers Brazil’s military capacity. According to the Egyptian account, the country had “24,000 soldiers in ordinary times and 595,284 soldiers in the National Guard, having rallied 60,000 fighters in the war against Paraguay, most of them enlisted in the Army voluntarily.” Describing the elements of the Brazilian society, the author points out that, although the Catholic region is prevalent in the country, “it encompasses many others.” The data collected on Brazil’s economic situation and ongoing reforms are interesting. The country was implementing “many reforms, such as paving roads to facilitate the transportation of crops […] and expanding railways, whose extension reached 558 kilometers.” The article goes on to highlight the “full freedom” in Brazil, “enshrined in the country’s Law in all its aspects, being absolute for the press, the people, the commerce and the industry.”
The history of the South American nation is discussed in detail by the Egyptian journal. According to the article, “its history started effectively in the fifteenth century when in the year of 1500, Spanish captain Vicente Yáñez Pinzón set anchor in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, discovered the estuary of the Amazon River and took ownership of it in the name of his lord.” “A few months later,” the author goes on,” Portugal’s Pedro Álvares Cabral set anchor in a place he called Porto Seguro, securing the conversion of the country into the ownership of the king of Portugal.” Brazil’s genesis is situated within the territorial disputes between Portugal and Spain in the Americas, created by the expeditions of Cabral and Pinzón. “As a result of these two events, a dispute arose between these states, ending only with the treaty signed in Tordesillas, which multiplied then the campaigns bound to the country. Portugal could then cement its authority and take possession of the land Cabral had dubbed ‘Land of Gold’ [sic], later to be called Brazil.”
The development of the colony with sugarcane culture, the arrival of Jesuits and the administrative reforms is described in the article. “Upon noticing the benefits and riches of the country, the government increased its interest and sent […] the noblest people of its kingdom, granting them lands and many feuds. Then came the Jesuits, who disciplined its people and concentrated it in the cities.” Back then, it reads, “Brazil gained far-reaching importance for Portugal, which discovered gold in 1698 and diamonds in 1730 – the amount of gold extracted reached 14,280 quintals and of diamonds 2,000 pounds a year.” The greed of foreign powers and the Dutch occupation during the periods of the Iberic Union and the ascension of the Brigantine Dinasty are also covered – “France tried to establish a state in the province of Rio de Janeiro in 1555 but was unsuccessful, and then tried again in 1610 until Portugal was incorporated to Spain, taking Brazil with it into this union. England and Netherlands were enemies back then and attacked the colony. Netherlands looted it after a violent resistance from Brazil but abandoned a major part of the territory after the fall of the King Philip IV and the ascension of the Brigantine Dinasty,” which culminated in the final expulsion of the Netherlands in 1654.
The Egyptian author mentions some of the events that led to independence of Brazil, like the transfer of the Portuguese court to Rio de Janeiro and popular riots: “Rio de Janeiro became the capital of Brazil, and the Portuguese court moved there in 1808.” The account points out the popular participation in the process of independence of Brazil, like the acclamation of D. Pedro I as “Perpetual Defender” of the country, as well as domestic and foreign conflicts that followed, culminating in the recognition of Brazilian sovereignty by Portugal in 1825 through the Treaty of Peace and Alliance: “[…] the Brazilian people rose in support of D. Pedro and against the governors, who were overthrown, making him its Defender. In 1822, he was acclaimed emperor and Brazil’s independence from Portugal was proclaimed.”
Lastly, the author describes how the solution to the dynastic conflict between Brazil and Portugal opened up space for the progressive stabilization of the country and the beginning, in 1840, of the reign of D. Pedro II, who would later visit Egypt: “[…] the Portuguese king passed and was succeed by his son D. Pedro […], and Brazil faced many hardships during the teenage years of the king, who overcame them all until coming of age and marrying a princess from Naples, with who he had two daughters.”
The historical account of the monarchy in Brazil ends in a melancholy tone by recalling the “many times” that articles were written on the emperor and “his love for science and progress,” and it describes the surprising arrival of the telegram with the news of “his deposition, the commotion of rioters, his expulsion from the kingdom and its conversion into a Republic.”
Although they would be formalized only in 1924, way into the Republican period, Brazil-Egypt relations date back from the nineteenth century, when both countries were ruled by monarchic lines. Such trait should have contributed to the unprecedented rapprochement between the Arab world and the South American country, epitomized by the travels of the emperor D. Pedro II to Egypt in 1871 and 1876, the first visits of an American head of state to the country. The dynastic ties between the Brazilian emperor and the House of Two Sicilies through his wife, Teresa Cristina, led to the establishment of the Brazilian consulate in Alexandria in 1867. The imperial visits to Egypt and the Levant in the following decade decisively contributed to attracting the Arab immigration to Brazil, laying the groundwork for solid relations with countries in the region and the soon-to-be largest Arab community in the American continents, estimated at over 10 million descendants.
* Pablo P. S. Romero (opening picture) is diplomat and was head of Press at the Embassy of Brazil in Cairo from 2018 to 2022. The opinions expressed in this text are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the Brazilian government.
The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
