MODERN BRAZIL
After the deportation of their third Monarch, the Brazilians settled
down to enjoy the advantages of an ideal and much-exalted Republican
Government; but it was not long before they encountered some sharp
disillusions. Their first President, General Don Manuel Deodoro de
Fonseca, who had been mainly responsible for the expulsion of the
Emperor, was installed immediately after Pedro's departure as head of
the Brazilian Government. He began by proving that a Republic in the
midst of unsettled political circumstances is, from its very nature,
almost invariably more autocratic than the ordinary empire.
Fonseca, a character sufficiently striking to merit individual mention,
was born at Algoas in Brazil, was educated at the military school in Rio
de Janeiro, and received his commission as a Lieutenant of Artillery in
1849. The chief feature of his military career was the prominent part he
took in the war with Paraguay in 1868-1870, where he distinguished
himself sufficiently to be promoted to the rank of Divisional-General.
It was not until 1881 that he became definitely known as an ardent
Republican, but from that time onward he continued to be actively
associated with the ultra-Liberal and Republican movement, and he was
responsible for the organization of the Military Club at Rio de
Janeiro, an institution which had other objects in addition to those
implied by its name.
Although Fonseca was a warm personal friend of the Emperor, his activity
and very obvious Republican sentiments led to his being appointed
Governor of a frontier province in 1887. This measure, of course, was
adopted in order to remove him from the capital, where his influence was
considered the reverse of helpful to the Imperial cause. In 1889 he
returned to Rio de Janeiro, and entered actively into the schemes of the
Republican party, more especially in army circles. In the recently
established Republican League, moreover, he was the leading spirit in
the movement which culminated in the overthrow of the Empire.
On November 21, 1889, the provisional Government conceded to all
Brazilians who could read and write universal suffrage, and this was
followed by the appointment of a Commission for the providing of a
Federal Constitution. Republican measures came quickly. On January 10,
1890, the separation of Church and State was decreed by the provisional
Government; and on June 23 of the same year the new Constitution was
promulgated.
In February of 1891 General Fonseca was elected first President of the
new Republic, for a four years' term. He was set at the head of a
Government depending largely on its troops, and these found themselves
suddenly possessed of a power which they had not known previously. The
new citizens of Brazil writhed uneasily under the restraints and
affronts which were now for the first time put upon them; the Press was
muzzled, and a tribunal established with the power of summarily trying
persons suspected of being guilty of want of respect to the new order of
things.
There is no doubt that the first establishment of the Brazilian
Republic was followed by measures of severe repression, not directed
against the Royalists--for this party, to all intents and purposes,
disappeared from existence as soon as the Emperor had left the shores of
Brazil--but against the dissatisfied citizens who were clamouring
against the autocratic methods pursued by the Government. Some definite
accusations were shortly brought against the President. He was accused
of several acts which much exceeded the authority vested in him; he was
charged in particular with numerous deeds of tyranny, violence, and
corruption.
Following on so many precedents of the kind in South America, Fonseca
retaliated by the inauguration of more stringent methods than any which
he had hitherto employed. A state of siege was declared in the capital,
and Fonseca caused himself to be invested with every right and privilege
of a dictator. These methods of terrorism he justified by the pretext of
monarchical plots. Very soon, however, General Peixoto became prominent
as a rival to the Presidency, and shortly a definite revolt arose in the
State of Rio Grande do Sul; while in the far north the State of Para
armed itself in preparation for the struggle against the central power.
The Navy declared itself against the Government. On November 23, 1891,
the fleet, commanded by Custodio de Mello, took up its position in front
of Rio de Janeiro, and actually fired a shot or two into the town.
President Fonseca was now convinced that the powers against him were too
strong to be successfully coped with; he resigned his office, and
retired into private life, surviving his fall only by a few months,
since he died in August of the following year.
Fonseca's fall was due not only to the measures employed in the
government of the country, but also to the financial state of Brazil at
the time of his election. Reckless extravagance and unscrupulous
handling of the public funds by the various political parties, together
with a too liberal use of the printing-press for the purpose of turning
out paper money when funds were needed, had caused a condition of
affairs which was very near bankruptcy. This condition, moreover, was
largely artificial, since Brazil is almost the first among the States of
South America in the matter of natural resources and general aptitude
for prosperity. Nevertheless, the costly wars carried on under the
Monarchy had left a large burden for the Republic to manage, and in
spite of the strictest economy, the people of the country found that the
inauguration of the Republic did not bring about the establishment of so
prosperous a paradise as they had hoped. Naturally, the blame for this
fell upon Fonseca, and added itself to the autocratic methods of his
government to render him unpopular.
Fonseca was succeeded by the Vice-President, according to the
regulations of the Constitution. This was Floriano Peixoto, who at first
gave promise of a liberal and progressive government. Very soon,
however, it became evident that the abuses of authority encouraged by
him were becoming even more violent than those of the previous regime,
and that the military despotism was even more accentuated. Any Governor
who did not bend without question to the will of the President was
instantly deposed, and in this way the Governors of Matto Grosso, Ceara,
and Amazones were deprived of their posts. Every official, in fact, who
did not show himself disposed to serve the new autocrat with a blind
obedience was deprived of whatever office he had held. The discontent
grew rapidly, while numerous Ministers resigned, and once again the
flames of revolt broke out in Rio Grande do Sul.
On September 6, 1893, Admiral Custodio de Mello, after various abortive
attempts, anchored again in front of the capital, and prepared his
cruiser _Aquidaban_ for action. Peixoto, however, determined to defend
his position, and prepared himself to face the dozen or more warships
which comprised the fleet of the insurgents. On September 12 the first
serious fight took place, the town being bombarded heavily by the fleet,
to which the guns of the forts responded on behalf of the Government.
The struggle continued in a desultory fashion, and a daily interchange
of shots was wont to take place between the naval and military forces.
This situation continued for the remainder of the year 1893, and, as
time went on, the position of the Government became rather more
strengthened, especially when it was reported that some war vessels
ordered by Peixoto in Europe were on their way to Brazil.
In the meanwhile, however, the position in the south became far more
favourable to the insurgents. The revolutionary forces under Saraiva
began a march to the north, when his movement was aided by a portion of
the fleet, under Admiral Donello, which had sailed to the south in order
to co-operate. Curitiba was captured, and the march up from the south
bade fair to be triumphant. This was to a certain extent neutralized by
the interference of the United States warships in the harbour of Rio on
behalf of some merchant vessels of their nationality threatened by the
revolutionary squadron. By this means the rebels lost prestige, and the
situation of Admiral da Gama, who had been left in command of the rebel
fleet, became serious.
On March 7 the vessels ordered by Peixoto from Europe arrived off Rio,
and da Gama, hearing no news from Mello, took refuge, with his officers
and men, on some Portuguese men-of-war. The authorities of Rio demanded
that these crews should be given up, but the Portuguese refused to
surrender them, and sailed away from the harbour with the insurgents on
board, a proceeding which caused a diplomatic rupture between Portugal
and Brazil.
A few days after this a misunderstanding occurred between the Government
and the Commander of the British vessels, and the _Cirius_ threatened to
open fire on the Brazilian vessels. The matter was, however, settled
without a shot being expended.
In the meanwhile affairs had not been favouring the revolutionists in
the south. Admiral de Mello's silence had been due to a breakdown in the
machinery of his ships, and not to any lack of initiative of his own.
After some time the Admiral arrived at Curitiba, from which point he
journeyed inland to Punto Grosso, where he met General Saraiva. At a
council held between the two, a Governor was named for the State of
Parana, and Southern Brazil was declared independent of Peixoto's
Government. When the news of Admiral da Gama's surrender came to
Curitiba, the unexpected blow tended greatly to the disorganization of
the movements of the insurgents, and when a division of 5,000 Government
troops marched from Sao Paulo to Curitiba, it met with no resistance.
While this was occurring, the revolutionist cruiser _Republica_ and
three armed transports, having 1,500 men on board, had sailed for the
harbour of Rio Grande. The summons to surrender was ignored by the town,
and Mello, after bombarding the place, landed a force which in the end
was repulsed. After this, despairing of success, Mello sailed to the
Argentine port of La Plata, where he surrendered to the Argentine
Government, who at once handed his vessels over to Brazil. The
_Aquidaban_, the remaining insurgent warship, was torpedoed a little
later by a Government vessel, and the stricken ship was run ashore and
abandoned.
General Saraiva in the south was shot in the course of a skirmish, and
the revolution was now finally crushed. The numbers who paid the fullest
penalty for their active discontent were very great, and the final
embers of the insurrection were extinguished to the tune of wholesale
executions.
It was now supposed that General Peixoto would reign unhampered as
dictator, and in peaceful circles no small alarm was felt. In 1894,
however, the President resigned, and was succeeded by Dr. Prudente de
Moraes Barros. Moraes was a stanch upholder of civil and peaceful
authority, and although a certain section, both of the army and navy,
manifested some discontent, the country progressed rapidly under his
administration.
The unrest in the Southern States, nevertheless, although it had been
temporarily quelled by force, was not long in reasserting itself. The
struggle which occurred here between the Government troops and the
revolutionary forces was sanguinary in the extreme. After a desperate
action, Admiral da Gama, wounded, committed suicide, and his death
practically ended the revolution. Towards the end of 1895 the President,
true to his pacific policy, granted a general amnesty in favour of the
insurgents, which went far to establish his popularity. In the south,
subsequent to a demonstration of local unrest, an attempt to assassinate
President Moraes occurred on November 4, 1897, in the course of which
the Minister of War was killed, and several other officials wounded.
People in general execrated the act, thus demonstrating the President's
popularity.
Towards the end of 1898 the Presidential election took place, and Dr.
Manuel Campos Salles, whose candidature received the support of Moraes,
was elected President. Dr. Campos Salles proved himself perfectly able
to cope with the modern developments of the Republic. Before taking
charge of his office he had journeyed to Europe and concluded financial
arrangements in London and elsewhere, and subsequently a commercial
treaty was ratified between Brazil and Argentina. In 1902 Campos Salles
was succeeded in the Presidency by Dr. Rodriguez Alves.
Meanwhile, in 1900, the northern Brazilian frontier, in the direction of
French Guiana, had been finally determined by a decision of the Swiss
Federal Council. A dispute with Great Britain over the British Guiana
frontier was referred to the King of Italy, who rendered his award in
June, 1904, allotting about 19,000 square miles to Guiana, and 14,000
square miles to Brazil.
A more important matter was the dispute with Bolivia respecting the Acre
territory, on the settlement of which Bolivia gave up all claims to
Acre, a district embracing about 73,000 square miles, in return for a
surrender of about 850 square miles on the Madeira and Abuna Rivers, 330
square miles on the left bank of the Paraguay River, and a cash sum of
10,000,000 dollars for the purpose of constructing a railway in the
borderland of the two countries. Subsequently Peru disputed the claim of
Brazil to the Acre territory, and this, no doubt, forms a matter for
future arbitrators to settle. The Presidential election raised Dr.
Affonso Penna to the head of the State in 1906, since when Brazil has
been steadily engaged in strengthening its financial position and in the
development of its internal resources.