Three things contributed to the change of government in Brazil from empire to republic. The first of these was the natural trend toward a republican form of government, since for more than a half a century Brazil had been surrounded by republics. During that time she had been the only representative of the monarchical system on the American continent. The Emperor himself had recognized the inevitable, if one may judge from his expressions. Had Dom Pedro at that time been in good health, he would doubtless have recognized the handwriting on the wall and voluntarily abdicated. Those who were disappointed in politics, or had a fancied grievance, belonged to this republican element, as it was the only thing that promised a change. The second contributing cause was the fear of clerical domination in the event the government fell to the Princess Isabel, daughter of the second Dom Pedro and heir to the throne. That she was a devout and sincere member of the Church of Rome there was no doubt; and this made the people fear an undue influence by the priests, although she had during the regencies done no overt act. Her personality was a sharp contrast to that of the amiable Emperor, for, where he was simple and unaffected, she was autocratic and reserved. Her husband, the Conde d’Eu, was cold in demeanour, close-fisted in money matters and a foreigner—the latter being a point that the Brazilians had never been quite able to overlook. If the count had been a Portuguese nobleman the feeling toward him might possibly have been different. The third and strongest reason was the abolition of slavery, which had been urged from the throne by the crown princess the year before.
In order to fully understand the slavery situation it is necessary to go back a number of decades in the history of the country. At the beginning of the 19th century there were perhaps two million of negro slaves in Brazil. From about that period the movement for the abolition of slaves began to make headway. Strong and influential men arose in a number of different states and advocated the gradual eradication of this practice, by freeing all children of slave mothers after a certain age had been reached. It was not, however, until 1830, and after much agitation, that the importation of slaves was made illegal; and for many years after this there was a large clandestine infiltration of blacks. The Emperor was at heart an abolitionist and favoured the movement as much as he dared. The law of 1830 proving ineffectual, in 1854 a vigorous statute was enacted suppressing the ingress of slaves and this was strenuously enforced. At this time the slaves numbered two million five hundred thousand, nearly forty per cent. of the population. The breaking out of the Paraguayan war checked the trend of the abolition movement, but at its close, in 1870, it sprang up again more strongly than ever. In the following year the so-called Rio Branco ordinance was passed, which declared that all children of slave mothers should be free after their majority, as this service should pay for their rearing and education. Proprietors were required to register all slaves. This concession did not satisfy a large element. In a few years a powerful party arose which demanded the immediate manumission of all slaves, and this party numbered among its adherents some of the strongest men in Brazil. Slavery was abolished in the states of Amazonas and CearÁ. A further bill, passed by the national assembly, declared all slaves over the age of sixty years free, on condition that they served their masters for three more years, and established a scale of low redemption prices by which the slaves could purchase their freedom. Rio de Janeiro was the centre of the abolition movement, and SÃo Paulo of the slave-holders’ strength. Many wealthy and influential slave-holders in the latter state voluntarily unshackled all their slaves for the sake of principle.
Encouraged by the state of public opinion, thousands of slaves voluntarily left the estates, and the officials generally refused aid in securing their return. So rapidly did the number of those held in bondage decrease that, by 1887, there were only seven hundred and forty-three thousand slaves in the whole empire, a little more than one-fourth of the number a quarter of a century previous. When the Congress met in May, 1888, the speech from the throne announced that “the imperial programme was absolute, immediate and uncompensated emancipation.” A bill was introduced which contained the following two short articles:
I. Slavery in Brazil is declared extinct.
II. All acts to the contrary are revoked.
Within eight days the bill had passed both houses, had been signed by the princess and was the law of the country. The votes against it were hardly numerous enough to be worth the counting. By this act the strongest upholders of the monarchy were alienated.
The rejoicings were confined almost exclusively to the labouring classes, who believed this change would better their condition. Those injured, the great plantation owners, made no open demonstration, but the seeds of sedition were sown. The ambitious group of military officers, who probably saw a chance of personal aggrandizement in a change of government, realized their opportunity approaching. SÃo Paulo was the hotbed of the disaffection, for the big coffee planters of the state felt the loss of slaves more than any other class. Furthermore that state was the home of a group of influential men who were republicans from principle. When the Emperor returned from Europe in August, 1888, an immense reception was organized for him; and that man, whose mental powers and perceptions were not so keen as formerly, failed to discern the uneasy feeling underlying the surface. And yet the plot was then well in hand for the final overthrow of monarchical conditions, as soon as a favourable opportunity presented itself.
It was not until 1884 that any avowedly republican members were elected to the national assembly, and then three were chosen, two of whom afterward filled the office of president. Benjamin Constant, a professor in the military school, in his teachings had spread republican doctrines among the younger officers of the army, and insubordination followed in certain quarters. The ministry seemed impotent against the power of the army. The princess was still disliked, and her husband, the Conde d’Eu, more so, and the Emperor was in failing health. It had been generally understood by both parties that nothing would be done during the lifetime of the Emperor. The regency of the princess had, however, become prolonged and unpopular. As the army became disaffected the conde had endeavoured to form a new Imperial Guard of Honour to protect the throne. A plan was also formulated to send the entire army away in detachments to various parts of the republic, and this was to be done on the 15th of November. It was also rumoured that the Emperor would again place the power of state in his daughter’s hands. On the 14th the report became current that Constant and Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca would be arrested. The ministry did not sleep that night, as rumours had reached it that a part of the army at least would resist removal.
The republicans were busy too, and, early in the morning, a brigade of the army drew up in front of the War Department, and a peremptory demand was sent to the cabinet to surrender. Resistance was useless, for the whole army was estranged. Consequently the entire cabinet telegraphed their resignations to the Emperor at Petropolis. This reached the Emperor just as he was leaving the imperial chapel, where he had attended mass. Dom Pedro started for Rio immediately, which place he reached in the middle of the afternoon. By this time the revolutionary chiefs had met and organized a provisional government, having named themselves as ministers, with General Deodoro da Fonseca as president. A manifesto was promulgated and given to the public proclaiming a republic. The senate, which had been a life position heretofore, was declared abolished and Congress was dissolved. On the night of the 14th the city of Rio de Janeiro had indulged in a celebration, and the Emperor was an honoured guest. On the following evening he was again a guest of the city, but practically a prisoner, for a republic had been proclaimed. The Emperor was notified that he and his family would be compelled to leave within twenty-four hours, but that their lives would be protected, and ample financial provision made for them. On the night of the 16th all the royal family were placed on board a steamer bound for Lisbon. The Emperor died at Paris on the 5th of December, 1891.
The countess still resides in France with her three sons. The eldest of these, the prince imperial, arrived at Rio de Janeiro a few years ago with the intention of making a visit to the land of his birth. The federal authorities refused permission for him to land, as they feared his presence might result in a disturbance.
The opportune time for the republic had no doubt arrived, for the country at large accepted this radical change with the greatest indifference. Those who were not satisfied at least kept still and decided to await developments. Outspoken monarchists were nowhere to be found. A military dictatorship followed with many of its evils. Most of the governors of the various provinces announced their submission to the new rÉgime, but the old officers of the monarchy were rapidly supplanted by republican sympathizers or officers of the army. This provincial government lasted for fourteen months, and effectually succeeded in making itself very unpopular. In that time a series of laws were promulgated covering almost every phase of government. The provinces were organized into states after the model of the United States of America, church and state were formally separated, civil marriage was established. Suffrage was made universal with an educational qualification only, and many judicial reforms were inaugurated. The green and yellow flag of the empire was retained although a considerable change in the design was made, and the imperial crown was eliminated from everything governmental. The republic was recognized by the United States in a little over two months, and by the other principal nations shortly afterward.
The first serious dissatisfaction arose out of delay in calling an election for a new Senate and House of Deputies. This was finally held, and the Congress met in Rio on the 15th of November, 1890. A constitution which is patterned very closely after that of the United States was adopted with few changes. One of the provisions was that the first president and vice-president should be elected by the Congress, and not by popular suffrage. Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca was chosen President, receiving eleven more than a majority, and Marshal Floriano Peixoto was selected for vice-president. The President, being a military man both by education and training, the government continued military in fact, for the constitution did not bother the new executive very much. During the provisional government the banks had been conceded the right to issue circulating notes, and the country was soon flooded with these promissory obligations. Credit was easy and a speculative boom followed. The amount of money in circulation had almost doubled in a few months, and exchange began to fall. Congress viewed this condition with alarm and passed measures restricting the issue of paper money. The President vetoed this and other bills. A law was passed nullifying the veto, and then the President forcibly dissolved the Congress. Rio was declared in a state of siege, constitutional guarantees were suspended and martial law evulgated. These measures proclaimed the President as a dictator. In ParÁ armed resistance arose; the State of Rio Grande do Sul openly revolted against President Deodoro, and he was unable to put it down. The revolutionists announced that they were ready to “march to Rio and depose the dictator.” The navy and most of the army declared against the President and he finally resigned in favour of the vice-president, in November, 1891. The first president was an able man in many ways. He had distinguished himself in the Paraguayan war, and had held a number of responsible positions, which he filled with credit. He was too unyielding, however, and his ideas of strong and inflexible rule did not harmonize with those of others almost equally powerful.
President Floriano had his troubles from the very beginning. Those opposed to a military man for executor endeavoured to force the election of a new president, but Floriano announced his determination to serve the term for which he had been elected. He abrogated the decree of his predecessor dissolving congress, and that body at once reassembled. The relations between the executive and legislative branches of the government were smooth at first. The year 1903, however, opened with ominous murmurings, with rumours of revolutions and conspiracies. The only effect this had upon President Floriano was to make him still more severe and arbitrary. Rebellions broke out in Rio Grande do Sul again, and also in Matto Grosso. The former insurrection lasted for three years, but the latter was more quickly subdued.
In September, 1893, the entire navy under Admiral Mello, who had been Minister of Marine, revolted. The Admiral issued a pronunciamento, of which the following is a part, and is a fair sample of the whole: “The President of the Republic has armed Brazilians against Brazilians; and he has raised legions of so-called patriots, spreading mourning, want and desolation in every nook and corner of the Republic, for the sole purpose of gratifying his personal caprices and strengthening and perpetuating the supremacy of his tyrannical dictatorship. Promising to be the sentinel of the Treasury, the President has perjured himself and deceived the nation, opening with sacrilegious hand the public exchequer to a policy of bribery and corruption, thus abusing the authority which, in an evil hour, the revolution placed in his hands.” The admiral, who had been joined by some members of Congress and other prominent civilians, threatened to bombard the city, but President Floriano acted quickly and manned, as well as strengthened, all the fortifications in the harbour. The admiral demanded the President’s resignation within six hours, and that official flatly refused and defied the naval squadron.
A BRAZILIAN CRUISER.
Congress stood by the President in this crisis and voted him funds. Rio and Nictheroy were declared in a state of siege. Mello fired a few shots at the city, which did considerable damage, but did not venture to carry out his threat to bombard it. He finally escaped with the Aquidaban and an armed transport, the Esperanca, and sailed for Rio Grande do Sul to join the insurrectionists in that quarter of the republic, where a provisional government had been set up. Admiral Saldanha da Gama was left in charge of the insurgent fleet. A few months later Mello returned northward with the Aquidaban to Rio, but did not join the other vessels in the harbour there. Admiral da Gama attempted to establish a blockade, but the American Admiral Benham would not permit this, claiming it was an unjustifiable interruption of commerce. An attempt was made to capture the land forts and a sanguinary engagement ensued in which over eight hundred men were killed and wounded. Soon afterwards the insurgents lost several vessels which were sunk by government shells. The naval revolt finally collapsed in March, 1894, but the commander, Admiral da Gama, escaped on board a Portuguese man-of-war and joined the other admiral in the south. This guerilla war in the south lasted until 1895; and it was not until several thousand lives had been sacrificed and much property destroyed that the beef eaters of the turbulent southernmost state yielded, and a peace was once more restored which has lasted to this day. President Floriano was very severe with the rebels who were captured, and scores of them were shot. In fact, for a while, wholesale slaughter of fellow Brazilians followed. Persons who were simply suspected of being implicated in the rebellion were arrested and shot down.
The people were weary of military rule and, at the election in March, 1894, it was generally understood that a civil president should be chosen. President Floriano himself advocated this and practically selected his successor, Dr. Prudente JosÉ de Moraes Barros. A few months after his term of office expired the ex-president passed away, as had his successor, just a little while after his enforced resignation.
Republican ideas and principles made a great advance when Dr. Moraes was inaugurated as president, on the 15th of November, 1894. He was a lawyer by profession, and a native of the progressive state of SÃo Paulo; was a little past fifty years of age, and from the earliest days of his career had been an ardent advocate of republican principles. Furthermore, the new President was opposed to the use of force in enforcing public administration. He had been a member of the provisional government of his state, and was the first governor of that state under the republic, as well as the first president of the national senate. He lived a simple life, free from all ostentation, and his straightforwardness and integrity brought to him the respect of all classes of Brazilians. Thus it was with a thorough equipment that this new civilian President met the responsible duties of his high office. The revolutionists insisted that the election was invalid, on the ground that no voting had taken place in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catharina and ParanÁ, although they had no objection to the new President personally. After peace was restored the President granted amnesty to all who had borne arms against the republic.
The natural consequence of the early days of extravagance began to be felt. The national and state government seemed to have vied with each other in multiplying the number of official employees, and in spending money on public buildings and other works. To meet the deficits paper money had been issued, and now the effects of this, together with the fall in the price of coffee, were being experienced by the nation at large, and retrenchment became necessary. Enemies both in official and private circles grew up. The ruling party became split over retrenchment policies, and an attempt was made to assassinate the President in broad daylight, which, it was strongly believed, was the result of a political plot. He would have been killed, had not a brave general thrown himself in front of the President and received the fatal wound himself. The effect of this conspiracy was to increase the admiration of the people for the President, and to condemn the methods of his enemies. An insurrection arose in the state of Bahia which required federal assistance; and this was believed by many to be backed by monarchical sympathizers, for it required an army of several thousand to quell it. A coup d’etat which had been planned early in 1897 by the vice-president, who was in power during the temporary absence of the President to recuperate his health, and who was backed by the discontented military, was nipped in the bud by his sudden and unexpected return to the capital. The boundary line with Argentina was settled during his administration, by the arbitration of President Cleveland who determined the contention in favour of Brazil.
In this way the four years of President Moraes’s term of office passed by, and Dr. Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, also a civilian and a lawyer, was chosen as his successor. An empty treasury, a country practically without credit, and a commercial crisis are the conditions that confronted the new President. A little later the Bank of the Republic failed, and this dragged down to ruin many commercial enterprises as well as a number of smaller banks. The President attacked these various financial problems with great energy and considerable shrewdness. The payment of interest on the public debt, which had been suspended for three years, was resumed, and the value of the money slowly began to rise. He managed by great shrewdness and tact to maintain his ascendency over the turbulent majority in Congress. The only complaints were because of the increase of taxes which were found necessary by his administration. They were able to show, however, why the money was needed and where it went. During his term another troublesome boundary question with France, over the southern limits of French Guiana, was settled. The dispute included a territory larger than Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and was submitted to the arbitration of the Swiss government and the entire tract, except three thousand square miles, was awarded to Brazil. There were no outside wars or internal revolutions during the term of Dr. Campos Salles, and he retired at the end of his term to his home town of SÃo Paulo, where he still lives and enjoys the confidence and regard of his fellow citizens.
The third civil President, who took office in 1902, was Dr. Francisco de Paulo Rodrigues Alves, also a Paulista, like his two immediate predecessors. He was elected peaceably, having been practically named by his predecessor. He found the condition of the government very much better than that individual had, for the finances were much improved. President Rodrigues Alves announced as his program the improvement of the sanitary conditions at Rio, and better shipping facilities. The transformation of that city, which has been elsewhere described, was the work of this administration and it remains as a monument to him. More than a thousand houses were torn down to make room for the improvements, and many millions of dollars were expended, but they were well spent. When the port works are completed, which were started by this administration, Rio will have a stone quay more than two miles in length. A special impost of two per cent. gold on all imports into that part was levied to pay for these improvements, and the government had no difficulty in floating loans to secure the money.
Another dispute over boundary, which had long been the cause of friction with Bolivia, was settled during the term of President Rodrigues Alves. This was concerning the Acre tract, which includes some of the richest rubber forests in the world. Brazil secured the land on the payment of $10,000,000, and an agreement to construct a railroad which would give Bolivia an outlet to the Amazon. It was in this territory that some American adventurers sought to set up a little independent kingdom. Several other serious boundary demarkations were likewise determined during his term of office. It was during his administration that the Pan American congress was held in Rio, which was the occasion of the visit of Secretary Root to that country, and which aided much in strengthening the friendly ties between the two countries. The consideration shown the American representative was remarkable. With the exception of a couple of little revolts which were really no more significant than strikes in our own land which sometimes require the assistance of federal troops, the administration of President Rodrigues Alves was marked by peace. He had filled many public positions and retired from office respected by all, and still lives to enjoy his honours.
In 1906 Dr. Alfonso Augusto Moreira Penna was elected President, having served as vice-president under the previous administration. He was a native of the state of Minas Geraes, and had served as president (governor, we would say) of that state. President Penna made a tour of the states before his inauguration and endeavoured to familiarize himself with their needs. His administration is too recent to be able to generalize it. All to whom I spoke, however, had only good words to say for President Penna and his aims. He desired to reform the currency by establishing a gold conversion fund. Under plans formulated by him and his advisers the government has made considerable progress along that line, and has gradually been adding to its gold reserve. His career was ended by death on the 14th of June, 1909, having served less than three years of his term, and being in the 62nd year of his age.
The duties of government fell upon the vice-president, Dr. Nilo PeÇanha, who immediately entered upon the discharge of that office. President PeÇanha is a native of the state of Rio de Janeiro, and was a noted lawyer in that state before his elevation to the vice-presidency. Although only thirty-nine years of age when elected to that office he had held numerous offices in his own state, including that of representative, president and national senator from that state. By reason of the constitutional inhibition he was prohibited from being his own successor to the office of president.
At the election held in March, 1910, Marshal Hermes da Fonseca was elected for the presidential term beginning the 15th of November, 1910. For the first time in the history of the republic there was an active campaign in which two candidates, Dr. Ruy Barbosa, an able lawyer, gifted orator and a civilian, opposed Marshal Hermes, on the ground that he represented the military element which had proven so unfortunate in the first few years of the republic. From the very beginning the trend was toward the Marshal, the States of SÃo Paulo, Bahia, the home of Dr. Barbosa, and a part of Minas Geraes alone holding aloof from his banner. Nevertheless, a vigorous campaign was waged, which cannot help but be educational, for it gave the voters an opportunity they had never had before—that of choosing between two candidates. The newly-elected President was born in 1855, and began his military career at the early age of sixteen. He has successively passed through the various grades until he reached his present rank in 1906. He is considered an authority on military matters, and served as Minister of War in the last administration. There are those who fear the return of a military man to the office of chief magistrate, but the result can not be told in advance. As a citizen he stands high, and it is to be hoped that his administration will redound to the credit of Brazil.
With the single exception of the forced resignation of President Deodoro, each president has been allowed to serve his term, and his successor has been peaceably installed in the presidential chair. The semi-independence of the states has made those political organizations far too important in the Federal Union, and in many instances it has rendered local administration cumbersome and costly. During the past three presidential terms there have been no serious disturbances, and the government has made great advances in the method of administration. The elections are still arbitrary and, perhaps, in many instances unfair, but the civil presidents have been men of character, and some of them have retired from office far poorer than they went in.
