Editing Pedro II of Brazil (section)

== Apogee ==
{{main|Apogee of Pedro II of Brazil}}

=== Abolitionism ===
[[File:Pedro Américo - D. Pedro II na abertura da Assembléia Geral.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1|alt=Full length painted portrait of a bearded man wearing a gold crown, mantle and sword and grasping a long scepter|Pedro&nbsp;II at age 46 delivering the [[speech from the throne]] wearing the [[Imperial Regalia of Brazil|Imperial Regalia]], 1872]]
In the 1870s, progress was made in both social and political spheres as segments of society benefited from the reforms and shared in the increasing prosperity.{{sfn|Olivieri|1999|p=37}} Brazil's international reputation for political stability and investment potential greatly improved. The Empire was seen as a modern and progressive nation unequaled, with the exception of the United States, in the Americas.{{sfn|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=9}} The economy began growing rapidly and immigration flourished. Railroad, shipping and other modernization projects were adopted. With "slavery destined for extinction and other reforms projected, the prospects for 'moral and material advances' seemed vast."{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=240}}

In 1870, few Brazilians opposed slavery and even fewer openly condemned it. Pedro&nbsp;II, who did not own slaves, was one of the few who did oppose slavery.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|pp=130–136, 189}},
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|p=194}},
* {{harvnb|Olivieri|1999|p=44}}.</ref> Its abolition was a delicate subject. Slaves were used by all classes, from the richest to the poorest.{{sfn|Olivieri|1999|p=43}}{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=130}} Pedro&nbsp;II wanted to end the practice gradually to soften the impact to the national economy.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=161}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=131}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 3|p=29}}.</ref> With no constitutional authority to directly intervene to abolish slavery, the Emperor would need to use all his skills to convince, influence, and gather support among politicians to achieve his goal.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=210}}{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|pp=132–136}} His first open move occurred back in 1850, when he threatened to abdicate unless the General Assembly declared the [[Atlantic slave trade]] illegal.{{sfn|Olivieri|1999|p=44}}{{sfn|Lira 1977, Vol 1|p=166}}

Having dealt with the overseas supply of new slaves, Pedro&nbsp;II turned his attention in the early 1860s to removing the remaining source: enslavement of children born to slaves.{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=132}}{{sfn|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=162}} Legislation was drafted at his initiative, but the conflict with Paraguay delayed discussion of the proposal in the General Assembly.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=132}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=162}},
* {{harvnb|Schwarcz|1998|p=315}}.</ref> Pedro&nbsp;II openly asked for the gradual eradication of slavery in the [[speech from the throne]] of 1867.{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=134}} He was heavily criticized, and his move was condemned as "national suicide."<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Schwarcz|1998|p=315}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=133}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=164}}.</ref> Critics argued "that abolition was his personal desire and not that of the nation."{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=136}} He consciously ignored the growing political damage to his image and to the monarchy in consequence of his support for abolition.{{sfn|Barman|1999|pp=224–225}} Eventually, a bill pushed through by Prime Minister [[José Paranhos]], was enacted as the [[Law of Free Birth]] on 28 September 1871, under which all children born to slave women after that date were considered free born.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=136}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=170}},
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|p=238}}.</ref>

=== To Europe and North Africa ===
[[File:Pedro II of Brazil in Egypt 1871.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|alt=A large group of men and women are gathered below the head of the Sphinx with the Great Pyramid looming behind|French archaeologist [[Auguste Mariette]] (seated, far left) and Pedro&nbsp;II (seated, far right) during the Emperor's visit to the [[Giza Necropolis]] at the end of 1871]]
On 25 May 1871, Pedro&nbsp;II and his wife traveled to Europe.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=236}}{{sfn|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=175}} He had long desired to vacation abroad. When news arrived that his younger daughter, the 23-year-old Leopoldina, had died in Vienna of [[typhoid fever]] on 7 February, he finally had a pressing reason to venture outside the Empire.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|p=236}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|pp=172, 174}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|pp=144–145}}.</ref> Upon arriving in [[Lisbon]], Portugal, he immediately went to the [[National Museum of Ancient Art|''Janelas Verdes'' palace]], where he met with his stepmother, Amélie of Leuchtenberg. The two had not seen each other in forty years, and the meeting was emotional. Pedro&nbsp;II remarked in his journal: "I cried from happiness and also from sorrow seeing my Mother so affectionate toward me but so aged and so sick."<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|p=236}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=180}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=147}}.</ref>

The Emperor proceeded to visit Spain, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Egypt, Greece, Switzerland, and France. In [[Coburg]], he visited his daughter's tomb.{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=147}}{{sfn|Barman|1999|pp=237–238}} He found this to be "a time of release and freedom". He traveled under the assumed name "Dom Pedro de Alcântara", insisting upon being treated informally and staying only in hotels.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=236}}{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|pp=146–147}} He spent his days sightseeing and conversing with scientists and other intellectuals with whom he shared interests.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=236}}{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=147}} The European sojourn proved to be a success, and his demeanor and curiosity won respectful notices in the nations which he visited. The prestige of both Brazil and Pedro&nbsp;II were further enhanced during the tour when news came from Brazil that the Law of Free Birth, abolishing the last source of enslavement, had been ratified. The imperial party returned to Brazil in triumph on 31 March 1872.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=240}}

=== Religious Issue ===
{{main|Religious Issue}}
[[File:Pedro II circa 1887b transparent.png|thumb|left|alt=Half-length photographic portrait of an older man with white hair and beard dressed in a dark jacket and necktie|Pedro, {{circa|1887}}]]

Soon after returning to Brazil, Pedro&nbsp;II was faced with an unexpected crisis. The Brazilian clergy had long been understaffed, undisciplined and poorly educated, leading to a great loss of respect for the Catholic Church.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=254}}{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=151}} The imperial government had embarked upon a program of reform to address these deficiencies.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=254}} As Catholicism was the state religion, the government exercised a great deal of control over Church affairs, paying clerical salaries, appointing parish priests, nominating bishops, ratifying [[papal bull]]s and overseeing seminaries.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=254}}{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=150}} In pursuing reform, the government selected bishops who satisfied its criteria for education, support for reform and moral fitness.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=254}}{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=151}} However, as more capable men began to fill the clerical ranks, resentment of government control over the Church increased.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=254}}{{sfn|Carvalho|2007|p=151}}

The bishops of [[Olinda]] and [[Belém]] (in the provinces of Pernambuco and [[Pará]], respectively) were two of the new generation of educated and zealous Brazilian clerics. They had been influenced by the [[ultramontanism]], which spread among Catholics in this period. In 1872, they ordered [[Freemasons]] expelled from [[lay brotherhoods]].<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|pp=255–256}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=153}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|pp=205–206}}.</ref> While European Freemasonry often tended towards [[atheism]] and [[anti-clericalism]], things were much different in Brazil where membership in Masonic orders was common—although Pedro&nbsp;II himself was not a Freemason.{{sfn|Barman|1999|pp=255–256}} The government headed by the Viscount of Rio Branco tried on two separate occasions to persuade the bishops to repeal, but they refused. This led to their trial and conviction by the [[Superior Court of Justice (Brazil)|Superior Court of Justice]]. In 1874, they were sentenced four years at hard labor, although the Emperor commuted this to imprisonment only.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|p=257}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=152}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=208}}.</ref>

Pedro&nbsp;II played a decisive role by unequivocally backing the government's actions.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|pp=257–258}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=153}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=212}}.</ref> He was a conscientious adherent of Catholicism, which he viewed as advancing important civilizing and civic values. While he avoided anything that could be considered unorthodox, he felt free to think and behave independently.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=253}} The Emperor accepted new ideas, such as [[Charles Darwin]]'s theory of [[evolution]], of which he remarked that "the laws that he [Darwin] has discovered glorify the Creator".{{sfn|Besouchet|1993|p=34}} He was moderate in his religious beliefs but could not accept disrespect to civil law and government authority.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|p=92}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=153}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=213}}.</ref> As he told his son-in-law: "[The government] has to ensure that the constitution is obeyed. In these proceedings there is no desire to protect masonry; but rather the goal of upholding the rights of the civilian power."{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=257}} The crisis was resolved in September 1875 after the Emperor grudgingly agreed to grant full amnesty to the bishops and the [[Holy See]] annulled the interdicts.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|p=270}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=208}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=156}}.</ref>

=== To the United States, Europe, and Middle East ===
[[File:Pedro II of Brazil Niagara Falls 1876.png|thumb|upright=1.8|alt=Photograph of three people, two women and a bearded man, seated on a park bench with six other men standing in back and waterfalls in the distance|Pedro&nbsp;II (seated, right) at [[Niagara Falls]], 1876]]
Once again, the Emperor traveled abroad, this time going to the United States. He was accompanied by his faithful servant Rafael, who had raised him from childhood.{{sfn|Besouchet|1993|p=275}} Pedro&nbsp;II arrived in New York City on 15 April 1876, and set out from there to travel throughout the country; going as far as [[San Francisco]] in the west, [[New Orleans]] in the south, [[Washington, D.C.]], and north to [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|pp=277–279}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|pp=161–170}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|pp=227–240}}.</ref> The trip was "an unalloyed triumph", Pedro&nbsp;II making a deep impression on the American people with his simplicity and kindness.<ref>See:
* {{harvnb|Barman|1999|p=280}},
* {{harvnb|Carvalho|2007|p=169}},
* {{harvnb|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=241}}.</ref> He then crossed the Atlantic, where he visited Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the [[Ottoman Empire]], Greece, the [[Holy Land#Christianity|Holy Land]], Egypt, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Britain, Ireland,<ref name = DPII>{{cite web |title=Dom Pedro II in Ireland |url=https://assets.ireland.ie/documents/1._English_Catalogue_for_Website.pdf|publisher = Consulate General of Ireland - São Paulo |website=assets.ireland.ie |date=21 May 2023|access-date=5 July 2024}}</ref> the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Portugal.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=280–282}}{{sfn|Lira 1977, Vol 2|p=222}} He returned to Brazil on 22 September 1877.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=286}}
[[File:Imatrankosken alapaviljonki 2017 05.jpg|thumb|right|Engraved signature by Pedro II while visiting the [[Imatrankoski]] rapids in [[Imatra]], [[Finland]]; 1876.<ref>{{Cite book |last= |url=https://vnk.fi/documents/1410877/2937056/Finland+-+Land+of+Islands+and+Waters |title=Finland: Land of Islands and Waters |publisher=[[Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Finland)|MMM]] |year= |pages=39 |language=en |format=PDF |quote=Emperor Pedro II of Brazil admired the Imatra rapids in 1876. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001143432/https://vnk.fi/documents/1410877/2937056/Finland+-+Land+of+Islands+and+Waters |archive-date=2022-10-01 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Pedro&nbsp;II's trips abroad made a deep psychological impact. While traveling, he was largely freed of the restrictions imposed by his office.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=245}} Under the pseudonym "Pedro de Alcântara", he enjoyed moving about as an ordinary person, even taking a train journey solely with his wife. Only while touring abroad could the Emperor shake off the formal existence and demands of the life he knew in Brazil.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=245}} It became more difficult to reacclimate to his routine as head of state upon returning.{{sfn|Besouchet|1993|p=248}} Upon his sons' early deaths, the Emperor's faith in the monarchy's future had evaporated. His trips abroad now made him resentful of the emperorship assigned to him at the age of five. If he previously had no interest in securing the throne for the next generation, he now had no desire to keep it going during his own lifetime.{{sfn|Besouchet|1993|pp=248, 253}}