Empire of Brazil: Difference between revisions

| flag_type = [[Flag of Brazil|Flag]] (1853–1889)

| flag_alt = Flag adopted in 1870 displaying 20 stars representing the country's provinces. Another star was added in 1870. The flag consists of a green field with a golden rhombus and the lesser arms of imperial Brazil.

| coat_alt = <!-- | other_symbol_alt = Coat of arms consisting of a shield with a green field with a golden armillary sphere superimposed on the red and white Cross of the Order of Christ, surrounded by a blue band with 20 silver stars; the bearers are two arms of a wreath, with a coffee branch on the left and a flowering tobacco branch on the right; and above the shield is an arched golden and jeweled crown. -->

| national_motto = {{native name|pt|Independência ou Morte!}}

| englishmotto = Independence or Death!

| national_anthem = ''[[Hino da Independência|Hino da Indepedência do Brasil]]'' <br /> <small>"Anthem of the Independence of Brazil"</small><br />[[File:Hino da Independência.ogg|center]]

| image_map = Brazilian Empire 1828 (orthographic projection).svg

| image_map_caption = Empire of Brazil at its largest territorial extent, 1822–1828,{{dubious|date=January 2023|reason=Enormous territory was acquired along the Peru border after 1828; see talk page and sources cited. Existing map shows this as part of Empire in 1822 which is anachronous.}} including former [[Cisplatina]] province

| common_languages = [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]

| religion = [[Catholic Church in Brazil|Roman Catholicism]]

| demonym = [[Brazilians]]

| government_type = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]

| event2 = [[Regency period (Empire of Brazil)|Regency]]

| date_event2 = 7 April 1831

| date_event3 = 23 July 1840

| event4 = [[Lei Áurea|Abolition of slavery]]

 

===Parliament===

 

Article 2 of Brazil's [[Brazilian Constitution of 1824|1824 Constitution]] defined the roles of both the emperor and the [[General Assembly (Brazil)|General Assembly of Brazil]] which in 1824 was composed of 50 senators and 102 general deputies, as the nation's representatives. The Constitution endowed the Assembly with both status and authority, and created legislative, moderating, executive and judicial branches as "delegations of the nation" with the separation of those powers envisaged as providing balances in support of the Constitution and the rights it enshrined.{{sfn|Barman|1988|p=132}}

{{Main|Armed Forces of the Empire of Brazil}}

[[File:Oficiais brasileiros canhao 1886.png|thumb|left|Brazilian Army officers, 1886|alt=A photograph depicting a group of five uniformed men posed between a pyramid of artillery shells on the left and a wheeled field artillery piece on the right]]

 

Under Articles 102 and 148 of the Constitution, the Armed Forces were subordinate to the emperor as [[commander-in-chief]].{{sfn|Rodrigues|1863|pp=79, 117}} He was aided by the [[Ministry of War (Brazil)|Ministry of War]] and [[Ministry of Navy (Brazil)|Ministry of Navy]] in matters concerning the [[Imperial Brazilian Army|Army]] and the [[Imperial Brazilian Navy|Armada]] (Navy)—although the president of the Council of Ministers usually exercised oversight of both branches in practice. The ministers of War and Navy were, with few exceptions, civilians.{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=193}}{{sfn|Lira 1977, Vol 3|p=84}}

{{Main|Slavery in Brazil}}

[[File:Family and slave house servants by Klumb 1860.png|thumb|A Brazilian family and its female house slaves, c. 1860|alt=a man and three women seated around a table with two servants standing in the background]]

 

In 1823, a year after independence, slaves made up 29% of the population of Brazil, a figure which fell throughout the lifetime of the Empire: from 24% in 1854, to 15.2% in 1872, and finally to less than 5% in 1887—the year before slavery was completely abolished.{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|pp=18, 239}} Slaves were mostly adult males from southwestern Africa.{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|pp=237–238}} Slaves brought to Brazil differed ethnically, religiously and linguistically, each identifying primarily with his or her own nation of origin, rather than by a shared African ethnicity.{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|p=29}} Some of the [[Atlantic slave trade|slaves brought to the Americas]] had been captured while fighting intertribal wars in Africa and had then been sold to slave dealers.{{sfn|Boxer|2002|pp=113–114, 116}}{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|p=30}}

===Nobility===

{{Main|Brazilian nobility}}

 

The [[nobility]] of Brazil differed markedly from its counterparts in Europe: noble titles were not hereditary, with the exception of members of the Imperial Family,{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|p=553}} and those who had received a noble title were not considered to belong to a separate social class, and received no [[appanage]]s, [[stipend]]s or [[emolument]]s.{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|p=553}} However, many ranks, traditions, and regulations in Brazil's system of nobility were co-opted directly from the Portuguese aristocracy.{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|p=554}}{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=11}} During Pedro I's reign there were no clear requisites for someone to be ennobled. During Pedro II's reign (apart from the Regency period during which the regent could not grant titles or honors{{sfn|Viana|1968|p=208}}) the nobility evolved into a [[meritocracy]]{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|p=554}} with titles granted in recognition of an individual's outstanding service to the Empire or for the [[common good|public good]]. Noble rank did not represent "recognition of illustrious ancestry."{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=139}}{{sfn|Viana|1968|p=220}}

===Visual arts===

{{See also|Brazilian academic art}}

 

According to historian Ronald Raminelli, "visual arts underwent huge innovations in the Empire in comparison to the colonial period."{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|p=83}} With independence in 1822, painting, sculpture and architecture were influenced by national symbols and the monarchy, as both surpassed religious themes in their importance. The previously dominant [[Baroque architecture in Portugal|old Baroque style]] was superseded by [[Neoclassicism]].{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|p=83}} New developments appeared, such as the use of iron in architecture and the appearance of [[lithography]] and photography, which revitalized the visual arts.{{sfn|Vainfas|2002|p=83}}

* [[Monarchies in the Americas]]

* [[List of titles and honours of the Brazilian Crown]]

* [[Second Reign]]

* [[First reign (Empire of Brazil)|First Reign]]