In 1876, during celebrations for the centenary of the independence of the United States, an unusual character caught the attention of Americans: the emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro 2º. Representative of the only monarchy in South America, he aroused such great sympathy that he earned the nickname “Yankee emperor”.
The emperor’s trip had no official character and no agreements were signed between the two countries. But it served to strengthen bilateral relations that began in 1824, when Brazil, recently freed from Portugal, recognized the independence of the United States, and vice versa.
Dom Pedro 2º’s interests in the trip were more scientific and cultural than diplomatic. He wanted to learn about the technological innovations that were emerging in that country and try to bring them to Brazil, which he considered uneducated and backward. The main one was the telephone, which he discovered during an exhibition in Philadelphia at the hands of its creator, Alexander Graham Bell. Brazil was one of the first countries to have this new development that would revolutionize the world of communication.
Known for his simple habits, the emperor ignored honors offered by the American government and attracted attention by behaving like a common citizen on the streets of New York and other large cities. He visited museums, newspaper offices and libraries, leaving diplomatic commitments in the background.
“The simplicity of the emperor’s manners surprised those who expected a sovereign surrounded by pomp and circumstances”, says historian and writer Mary Del Priore, author of several books on the history of Brazil.
The US press followed in the footsteps of the monarch, who did not hesitate to exchange official ceremonies for visits to cultural and scientific societies and institutes. As soon as he disembarked in the port of New York, on April 15, 1876, he caught the attention of the newspapers by ignoring the reception offered by the American government and not heading directly to the capital, Washington.
He preferred to stay in New York and visit places like Central Park. He drove rental cars and paid his own expenses. When recognized, he reacted pleasantly to greetings and always stopped to exchange a few words.
He was very impressed with the surface trains that connected neighborhoods in the city and imagined similar structures to be built in Rio de Janeiro, but the project never got off the ground.
The New York Herald newspaper took advantage of the sympathy aroused by the emperor to make indirect criticisms of the American politicians and elite themselves. In the article “Our Yankee Emperor”, published in April 1876, the newspaper recorded: “D. Pedro 2º is the first emperor we see in this imperial country, where everyone thinks they are emperors”.
The meeting with President Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) would only take place at the beginning of May, in Washington. There was, however, no “chemistry” between them, as they said there was from the USA, , and Brazil, , after one of the most tense moments in the history of relations between the two countries.
In July, the republican announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian products. On Thursday (20), it removed the tax on products such as meat and coffee amid diplomatic negotiations and rising inflation in the USA.
Dom Pedro, on the other hand, “didn’t like Grant, who he described as rude and silent”, says historian Paulo Rezzutti, author of the biography “D. Pedro II – A História não contada” (Editora Record). Even so, on May 10, both men inaugurated the Universal Exhibition in Philadelphia together, as part of the centennial celebrations.
In the Brazilian pavilion, Pedro 2º acted as a poster boy by personally demonstrating Brazilian products to visitors to the exhibition, such as coffee, rubber, fruits, wood and mineral wealth. On July 12, the imperial entourage embarked for Europe.
The Second Reign was the longest government in the history of Brazil, including the republican era: 49 years, between 1840 and 1889. In almost five decades, Dom Pedro 2º, whose bicentenary of birth is celebrated in December of this year, became known as “citizen emperor”, “enlightened emperor” and “philosopher emperor”.
Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga, or just Pedro de Alcântara, as he liked to be called, was born on December 1, 1825, in Rio de Janeiro. On that day, the capital of the Empire was celebrating the third anniversary of the coronation of his father, Emperor Dom Pedro 1st.
“The fact that he spent almost 50 years in power already shows that he wasn’t just anyone. Pedro 2º, unlike his father, thought more and spoke less, he didn’t allow others to guess what was going on in his head”, says Rezzutti.
The first years were not easy for Pedro, motherless at just one year old. At 5, he was separated from his father, who abdicated the throne in 1831 to assume the reign of Portugal. Raised by tutors, as a teenager he was forced to take command of a huge, complex, slave-owning country, full of social inequalities and separatist movements.
The Second Reign was marked by ups and downs, in all areas of administration, and immense personal challenges imposed on the monarch. Among them, governing one of the last countries in the world to abolish slavery and leading the country during the Paraguayan War (1864-1870), which left thousands of dead, as well as immense political and economic damage to public coffers.
The national economy did not present a significant performance in the period. As demonstrated by historian and journalist Jorge Caldeira in “History of Wealth in Brazil” (published by Estação Brasil), per capita income in Brazil went from US$670 per year in 1820 to US$704 in 1890. In other words, growth of just 4% in the average Brazilian income in 70 years.
At the same time, the monarch demonstrated an ability to deal with politics and politicians. “He never appointed ministers that he could not dismiss, so that his friends remained off the lists”, records Caldeira.
