O SEGUNDO REINADO - Curso de História do Brasil pelo Brasil episódio 13 (Débora Aladim)

The Second Reign

The lesson introduces the Second Reign under Dom Pedro II, focusing on the emperor’s public image, political arrangements, the Praieira Revolt, and the coffee economy. It presents the period as one of relative domestic stability alongside growing economic and political tensions.

Dom Pedro II and His Public Image

• Dom Pedro II became emperor at age 14. His upbringing and education were directed toward preparing him to rule.
• He is described as learned, multilingual, interested in science and new technologies, and careful in his public conduct.
• In contrast to the impulsive and authoritarian image associated with his father, Pedro I, Pedro II cultivated a controlled, composed persona.
• Portraits often showed him as an older, mature ruler—even when he was young—to emphasize his authority and readiness to govern.

Politics: Saquaremas, Luzias, and Imperial Power

• The Conservatives were nicknamed Saquaremas, after a place associated with their political base; Liberals were called Luzias, a reference to their defeat at Santa Luzia.
• The phrase “nothing resembles a Saquarema more than a Luzia in power” captures the lesson’s point that the parties had important similarities. Both largely defended the existing social hierarchy, property rights, and slavery.
• Their differences concerned the degree and organization of political power:
  • Conservatives generally favored a strong, centralized government, the monarchy, and the emperor’s Moderating Power.
  • Liberals tended to favor greater provincial autonomy, criticize the Moderating Power, and seek broader political representation.
• The presenter cautions against applying modern definitions of “liberal” and “conservative” to nineteenth-century politics. Political activity was often driven less by abstract ideology than by status, access to office, and the interests of one’s family or supporters.
• Political participation was limited: voting was indirect and restricted to a small portion of the population. Elections could involve coercion, violence, and bribery.

“Upside-Down” Parliamentarism

• A parliamentary arrangement was introduced in 1847 with the creation of the President of the Council of Ministers.
• In the system described as “parliamentarism in reverse,” power flowed from the emperor downward:
  1. The emperor appointed the President of the Council of Ministers.
  2. That president selected the cabinet.
  3. The cabinet needed the confidence of both the Chamber and the emperor.
• The emperor could dissolve the Chamber and call elections when it did not support the cabinet he wanted. Because the government could influence elections, a new Chamber could be formed to support his preferred ministers.
• Cabinets changed frequently—36 over roughly 50 years, according to the lesson—but the emperor’s practice of alternating Liberals and Conservatives helped reduce the risk of either faction being permanently excluded from power.
• The lesson presents this balancing act as a source of relative internal stability, while emphasizing that the broader political system kept most people far from power. Some Liberals’ desire for greater representation helped plant the seeds of republicanism.

Electoral Reform and Exclusion

• The lesson highlights an electoral reform in the early 1880s that restricted voting to literate men. The transcript gives the date as 1882; the measure is commonly associated with the 1881 Saraiva Law.
• Since literacy and education were especially inaccessible to poor and Black Brazilians, the restriction further narrowed political participation.
• The presenter contrasts this with the 1824 and 1988 constitutions, which allowed illiterate people to vote.

The Praieira Revolt

• The Praieira Revolt, which began in Pernambuco in 1848, is presented as the last major provincial rebellion seeking separation from Brazil.
• It was influenced by the wave of liberal and republican revolutions in Europe. Its immediate context included the emperor’s appointment of a conservative provincial president, which opponents regarded as authoritarian.
• The rebels’ demands included:
  • A constituent assembly to replace the 1824 Constitution.
  • Freedom of the press.
  • Abolition of the Moderating Power.
  • An end to lifetime senatorial appointments.
  • Greater job security.
  • Free and universal suffrage.
  • Nationalization of retail commerce, then largely in Portuguese hands.
• The name “Praieira” came from the rebels’ association with the newspaper Diário Novo, based on Rua da Praia in Recife.
• The imperial government rapidly suppressed the revolt and arrested its leaders. The lesson interprets the outcome as a victory for the central empire over regional separatism.

Coffee, Land, and Immigration

• Coffee became Brazil’s leading export and transformed the economy, especially in the Southeast. The Paraíba Valley and, later, western São Paulo became major growing regions.
• Coffee expansion intensified conflicts over land, where possession and ownership could be unclear. In practice, people with money, force, or influence—including the ability to hire lawyers or bribe officials—were often best placed to claim land.
• The Land Law of 1850 required land to be purchased rather than acquired through open occupation or new grants. The lesson argues that this made it harder for poor immigrants to become independent farmers and encouraged them to work for large coffee estates.
• Coffee required substantial labor, particularly for hand-picking the harvest. With the transatlantic slave trade prohibited in 1850 and internal slave supply unable to meet demand, plantation owners increasingly recruited immigrants.
• The lesson describes two labor arrangements:
  • Partnership: Estate owners paid families’ travel costs, but immigrants arrived indebted for transportation, housing, and food. The resulting debts could be difficult to repay, and the system was compared to serfdom.
  • Subsidized immigration: The state covered travel and initial accommodation costs, helping replace the partnership system. The former immigrant hostel in São Paulo’s Brás district is cited as a surviving reminder of this process.
• Many immigrants came from Italy and Germany; the presenter notes that Italians formed a particularly large share. European recruitment was also shaped by economic hardship abroad.
• Immigration policy was influenced by racist ideas, including social Darwinism and the belief that Brazil should be “whitened.” The lesson describes these beliefs as false and explains how they informed efforts to increase European immigration and diminish the Black presence in Brazilian society.
• The presenter also notes that formerly enslaved people were not simply absorbed into plantation work under similar conditions, and that migrants from poorer parts of Brazil pursued other opportunities, including rubber in the North and cocoa in Bahia.

Economic Shifts and Consequences

• Coffee exports enriched São Paulo and helped shift Brazil’s economic center from the Northeast toward the Southeast.
• The United States was a major consumer of Brazilian coffee, while Britain was not a comparably large market. The lesson connects this imbalance to Brazil’s continued dependence on British finance and debt.
• Coffee wealth supported infrastructure and development, including the expansion of railways associated with the period of the Viscount of Mauá. Wealthy coffee growers gained political influence and titles of nobility, becoming known as “coffee barons.”
• The lesson closes by previewing later topics: the Paraguayan War, the decline of the Second Reign, and the end of slavery.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Speaker: Débora Aladim, the lesson’s presenter.
• Historians quoted or referenced: Holanda Cavalcanti and José Murilo de Carvalho.
• Other sources or references mentioned: The 2015 ENEM exam; the 1824 Constitution; the 1850 Land Law; and the electoral reform of the early 1880s.