The party of order : the conservatives, the state, and slavery in the Brazilian monarchy, 1831-1871

This study analyzes Brazil's monarchy, which adapted European ideas and practices to a creole plantation society that was traditionally based on African slavery. It focuses upon the Conservatives, who represented the sugar and coffee elites in reconstructing the new nation's state as a strong, representative, constitutional monarchy in troubled times. After the monarch himself assumed power, however, his views undercut parliamentary and party government, which were also sapped by regional differences and the pressure for state patronage. Increasingly, the emperor and his cabinets used state patronage and state authority to dominate politics. When the emperor decided upon gradualist abolition, Conservatives were unable to defeat it, despite its unconstitutional origin and imposition and its threat to the society and economy they represented. The legacy of an authoritarian, centralized political culture survived; that of a representative, constitutional regime did not. This book dramatically revises notions of the monarchy in terms of the social and ideological origins and nature of the Brazilian state, the role of the monarch, and the range and complexity of elite politics in the era. Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Notes on Names, Titles, Spelling, and Translation......Page 14 Maps: City of Rio de Janeiro, Province of Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil......Page 16 Introduction: An Obscured Genesis......Page 22 1: The Port and Province of Rio de Janeiro......Page 30 2: The Threat of Revolution and the Reactionary Mobilization: 1831-1837......Page 51 3: Political Theory, Partisan Practice, and the Emperor's Emergence: 1837-1848......Page 94 4: Provincial Politics, Foreign Affairs, and Patronage: 1848-1853......Page 138 5: The Transformation of Politics and the State: 1853-1867......Page 188 6: Abolition, War, and the Vindication of Constitutional Government: 1867-1871......Page 244 7: The Defeat of the Party: The Political Crisis of 1871......Page 293 Conclusion: Legacy and Metamorphosis......Page 336 Reference Material......Page 346 Genealogical Tables......Page 348 Abbreviations......Page 354 Notes......Page 356 Bibliography......Page 448 Index......Page 464

'This work is a very considerable contribution to our understanding of Brazil's emergence as a nation-state. It provides a historical explanation of why Brazil continues to be-almost two centuries after independence-highly hierarchical, conservative, and unegalitarian in terms of race, education and wealth. This book is no less valuable as a study of the emergence and the dynamics of party politics in Imperial Brazil.'-Roderick J. Barman, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia
Needell has produced a detailed, elegantly written book about the Regency and most of the Second Empire...His lively narrative, judicious quotes, and thumbnail biographies make this both enjoyable and essential reading for historians of Brazil.-Colonial Latin American Historical Review

"This study analyzes Brazil's monarchy, which adapted European ideas and practices to a creole plantation society that was traditionally based on African slavery. It focuses upon the Conservatives, who represented the sugar and coffee elites in reconstructing the new nation-state as a strong, representative, constitutional monarchy in troubled times. This book dramatically revises notions of the monarchy in terms of the social and ideological origins and nature of the Brazilian state, the role of the monarch, and the range and complexity of elite politics in the era."--Jacket Analyzes Brazil's monarchy, which adapted European ideas and practices to a Creole plantation society that was traditionally based on African slavery. This study focuses upon the Conservatives, who represented the sugar and coffee elites in reconstructing the nation's state as a strong, representative constitutional monarchy in troubled times