{"id":321072,"date":"2022-11-17T11:49:25","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T14:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=321072"},"modified":"2022-11-20T18:10:02","modified_gmt":"2022-11-20T21:10:02","slug":"article-an-account-of-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/article-an-account-of-brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"ARTICLE: An account of Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Pablo P. S. Romero*<\/strong><\/p>\n

A record search carried out in 2021 in the archives of Al Ahram \u2013 Egypt\u2019s leading newspaper \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

Under the title \u201cBrazil,\u201d the news starts with a brief account of the \u201clevant of the military garrison in the country\u2019s capital city that overthrew the government, substituting it with a republican-based administration.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Al Ahram: First story on Brazil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When describing the vast territory and the geographical particularities of Brazil, the text mentions the long borders, \u201cwhich are still not demarcated, except on the South front,\u201d mentioning the fact that \u201cseventy percent of the territory holds forests and uncultivated land, while only ten percent of the Brazilian land would be conductive to agriculture.\u201d This situation doesn\u2019t prevent the author from getting impressed with the \u201cgreat riches,\u201d 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\u2019s Brazil, \u201ca 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.\u201d It goes on to say that it wouldn\u2019t take long for this \u201cgreat people to reach success and progress,\u201d highlighting efforts undertaken by emperor Dom Pedro II for fostering the development of his subjects.<\/p>\n

Brazil is described as a \u201chereditary constitutional monarchy\u201d divided into provinces led by governors and with \u201centirely different [legislations], linked together by ties of solidarity, ruled by a single head: The emperor.\u201d The \u201cabsolute authority,\u201d however, was vested in the congressmen, who ruled a country \u201cwhere no legislative or constitutional change can be made.\u201d The author also covers Brazil\u2019s military capacity. According to the Egyptian account, the country had \u201c24,000 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.\u201d Describing the elements of the Brazilian society, the author points out that, although the Catholic region is prevalent in the country, \u201cit encompasses many others.\u201d The data collected on Brazil\u2019s economic situation and ongoing reforms are interesting. The country was implementing \u201cmany reforms, such as paving roads to facilitate the transportation of crops [\u2026] and expanding railways, whose extension reached 558 kilometers.\u201d The article goes on to highlight the \u201cfull freedom\u201d in Brazil, \u201censhrined in the country\u2019s Law in all its aspects, being absolute for the press, the people, the commerce and the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The history of the South American nation is discussed in detail by the Egyptian journal. According to the article, \u201cits history started effectively in the fifteenth century when in the year of 1500, Spanish captain Vicente Y\u00e1\u00f1ez Pinz\u00f3n 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.\u201d \u201cA few months later,\u201d the author goes on,\u201d Portugal\u2019s Pedro \u00c1lvares Cabral set anchor in a place he called Porto Seguro, securing the conversion of the country into the ownership of the king of Portugal.\u201d Brazil\u2019s genesis is situated within the territorial disputes between Portugal and Spain in the Americas, created by the expeditions of Cabral and Pinz\u00f3n. \u201cAs 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 \u2018Land of Gold\u2019 [sic], later to be called Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n

The development of the colony with sugarcane culture, the arrival of Jesuits and the administrative reforms is described in the article. \u201cUpon noticing the benefits and riches of the country, the government increased its interest and sent [\u2026] 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.\u201d Back then, it reads, \u201cBrazil gained far-reaching importance for Portugal, which discovered gold in 1698 and diamonds in 1730 \u2013 the amount of gold extracted reached 14,280 quintals and of diamonds 2,000 pounds a year.\u201d 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 \u2013 \u201cFrance 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,\u201d which culminated in the final expulsion of the Netherlands in 1654.<\/p>\n

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: \u201cRio de Janeiro became the capital of Brazil, and the Portuguese court moved there in 1808.\u201d The account points out the popular participation in the process of independence of Brazil, like the acclamation of D. Pedro I as \u201cPerpetual Defender\u201d 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: \u201c[\u2026] 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\u2019s independence from Portugal was proclaimed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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: \u201c[\u2026] the Portuguese king passed and was succeed by his son D. Pedro [\u2026], 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The historical account of the monarchy in Brazil ends in a melancholy tone by recalling the \u201cmany times\u201d that articles were written on the emperor and \u201chis love for science and progress,\u201d and it describes the surprising arrival of the telegram with the news of \u201chis deposition, the commotion of rioters, his expulsion from the kingdom and its conversion into a Republic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

* Pablo P. S. Romero (opening picture)<\/em> 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors.<\/em><\/p>\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Personal archive<\/div>\n
Reproduction<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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