O SecondReign it was a period that extended from 1840 to 1889 and in which the Brazilian throne was occupied by D. Pedro II. He took over as emperor through the Coup of Majority and, during his 49 years of reign, several landmark events took place, such as the Paraguayan War and the abolition of slavery. He was dethroned with the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889.
Coup of Age
O Second Reinado started-if by means of a coup who authorized the anticipation of the majority of Pedro de Alcântara, the heir to the Brazilian throne. The 1830s were the decade of PRegency period, that is, when regents ruled the country until Peter reached the 18 years required for him to be crowned emperor.
Power struggles between liberals and conservatives were fierce and the country's instability was clearly perceived by the amount of rebellionsprovincial that started in the country. The rise of the conservative Pedro de Araújo Lima as regent motivated the members of the Liberal Party to ask for the anticipation of Pedro's majority so that he could assume the throne.
This proposal gained momentum and was even supported by members of the Conservative Party. So, the Pedro de Alcântara's adulthood was anticipated on July 23, 1840, when he was just 14 years old. THE coronation of him as D. Pedro II and Emperor of Brazil took place on the day July 18, 1841.
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Politics
Second Reign policy was complex, and D. Pedro II had to pay extra attention to political parties to maintain the stability of his reign. The two parties were the BrokenConservative it's the BrokenLiberal, which had a small ideological difference between them, but who, in general, were representatives of the same interests and the same social classes.
The dispute between liberals and conservatives was fierce in the early 1840s, when D. Pedro II was still consolidated in the role of emperor. For this reason, the political system established in the Second Reign allowed for a relaybetween liberals and conservatives. In the long run, this ensured the stability of the Second Reign.
The system in question was the parliamentarismatinside out. In this system, Brazil was governed as in a parliamentary monarchy, with a ministerial cabinet, which headed the government and parliamentarians. Thus, if the emperor was not satisfied with the performance of the cabinet or the deputies, he could dissolve the parliament and call new elections.
Altogether, over the years of the Second Reign, they were formed 36 different cabinets, which shows that the rotation in power between liberals and conservatives was high. The possibility of a quick change in the head of government was what ensured this more harmonious coexistence between liberals and conservatives.
Economy
With regard to the economy, the two main highlights are the economycoffee tree, which has established itself as the main item of the Brazilian economy, and the embryonicindustrialization that was drafted in the country. The highlight, of course, goes to coffee, the main export item in the Brazilian economy until the 1950s.
O coffee was introduced in Brazil in the 18th century and in the 19th century, it became popular as the main economic activity. The two major coffee producing regions in the country were the OKofParaíba (located in Rio de Janeiro and part of São Paulo) and the WestPaulista. A secondary region in coffee production was the Wood zone of Minas Gerais.
With regard to industrialization, Brazil experienced a small burst of industrial development between the 1840s, 1850s and 1860s. During this period, the country had an increase in steam navigation and saw the railroads multiply, especially with a view to increasing the country's exports. One of the symbols of this period was Irineu Evangelista de Sousa, the BAaroninMaua.
Paraguay War
A watershed event in the history of the Second Reign was the Paraguay War. This conflict took place from 1864 to 1870, leaving thousands dead in the four countries involved (to date there is no reliable estimate of how many died in that war): Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.
Brazil, like Uruguay and Argentina, was part of the TripleAlliance and everyone fought against Paraguay, a country ruled by the dictator FranciscoSolanoLopez. This conflict was motivated by the divergence of interests in economic, territorial and political issues that involved Paraguay's relationship with the other nations of the La Plata Basin.
The crucial event for the start of the war was Brazil's interference in the political dispute between white and colorado, groups that disputed power in Uruguay. Brazil's involvement in defense of colorado motivated Paraguay (allies of the white) to attack Brazil in December 1864 as a reprisal.
The war only ended when Solano López was killed by Brazilian troops in Battle of Cerro Corá. Paraguay suffered great destruction in material and human lives, and Brazil reaped problems in the economy caused by large expenses in the conflict. The image of the monarchy and D. Pedro II was shaken after that war.
Accessalso: How was the life of ex-slaves after the Golden Law?
abolition of slavery
Another crucial event in the history of the Second Reign was the abolition of slave labor, a fact that occurred in 1888. O abolition process in Brazil was slow and it served the interests of the slave elite, who did not want to give up their slave workers. The starting point was the prohibition of the slave trade through the Eusébio de Queirós Law in 1850.
Discussions for abolition or for reforms that would broaden the liberation of slaves continued in the following decades and were heated. From these debates, two laws were born:
law of the free womb (1871): made the children of female slaves free with the approval of the law;
LawFromSexagenarians (1885): set slaves over 60 years old free.
However, the abolition of slave labor in Brazil was the result of slave mobilization and of a portion of Brazilian society, especially from the 1870s onwards. The rslaves' resistance it happened through escapes and the formation of quilombos, creation of information networks, violent revolts, refusal to work, etc.
There was also mobilization in large cities and the formation of groups that acted legally and illegally to help slaves to obtain their freedom as much as possible. There were those who hid escaped slaves, gave them food, helped transport them to quilombos, acted in the courts prosecuting slavers, etc.
The result was that slavery became an extremely fragile institution in the late 1880s and this paved the way for LawGolden was signed by PIsabella in May 13, 1889.
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Proclamation of the Republic
After the 1870s, the monarchy went into crisis. It was no longer able to meet the demands and interests of a considerable portion of society, including urban classes, some elite political groups and the military. Around these groups, the republic began to emerge as an alternative.
The 1880s were marked by a chronic political crisis, and the monarchy was losing more and more support. Groups of military and civilians began to conspire against Emperor D. Pedro II and this conspiracy resulted in the November 15, 1889. On that day, Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca led the overthrow of the ministerial cabinet, and Councilor José do Patrocínio proclaimed the republic.
D. Pedro II was dethroned and, together with the royal family, it was expelledO of Brazil, leaving for exile in Europe on November 17, 1889. The former emperor never returned to Brazil and died in Paris in 1891.