Proclamation of the Brazilian Republic
The Brazilian monarchy was overthrown on 15 November 1889 by a military parade, and almost nobody objected. Pedro II had reigned for forty-nine years, was personally respected, corresponded with scientists, and presided over a period of relative stability that was unusual in the region. The empire nonetheless lost the support of every group it depended on within about two years. The planters were alienated by the abolition of slavery in 1888 without compensation. The church was alienated by a quarrel in the 1870s in which two bishops were imprisoned. The army was alienated by low pay, by having been ignored after winning the Paraguayan war, and by a rule forbidding officers to discuss politics in the press. Positivism was fashionable in the military academies, and republicanism came with it. Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, an old soldier who was personally loyal to the emperor, was persuaded that a coup was about to be made against the army rather than by it, and rode out at the head of troops on the morning of the 15th. It is unclear whether he intended to change the ministry or the regime, and by the afternoon a republic had been proclaimed by civilians. The imperial family was put on a ship two days later and went into European exile. The republican motto on the flag — order and progress — is Comte's. The army governed for four years, and the pattern of officers deciding when a Brazilian government had run out of time was set for the next century.
- Year: 1889 CE
- Category: Political
