Editing Pedro II of Brazil (section)

=== Legacy ===
{{main|Legacy of Pedro II of Brazil}}
[[File:Petropolis-Cathedral4.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Inside a gothic chapel, a marble effigy of a bearded emperor in uniform lies atop an intricately carved stone sarcophagus|Tomb of Pedro&nbsp;II and Teresa Cristina in the [[Catedral de Petrópolis|Cathedral of Petrópolis]], Brazil]]
After his fall, Brazilians remained attached to the Emperor, who was still a popular and highly praised figure.{{sfn|Schwarcz|1998|p=497}}{{sfn|Martins|2008|p=66}} This view was even stronger among those [[Afro-Brazilian|of African descent]], who equated the monarchy with freedom because of his and his daughter Isabel's part in the abolition of slavery.{{sfn|Schwarcz|1998|p=469}} The continued support for the deposed monarch is largely credited to a generally held and unextinguished belief that he was a truly "wise, benevolent, austere and honest ruler", said historian Ricardo Salles.{{sfn|Salles|1996|p=15}} The positive view of Pedro&nbsp;II, and nostalgia for his reign, only grew as the nation quickly fell into a series of economic and political crises which Brazilians attributed to the Emperor's overthrow.{{sfn|Schwarcz|1998|p=496}}

Strong feelings of guilt manifested among republicans, and these became increasingly evident upon the Emperor's death in exile.{{sfn|Schwarcz|1998|pp=495–496}} They praised Pedro&nbsp;II, who was seen as a model of [[Res publica|republican ideals]], and the imperial era, which they believed should be regarded as an example to be followed by the young republic.{{sfn|Schwarcz|1998|p=508}}{{sfn|Martins|2008|p=123}} In Brazil, the news of the Emperor's death "aroused a genuine sense of regret among those who, without sympathy for a restoration, acknowledged both the merits and the achievements of their deceased ruler."{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=402}} His remains, as well as those of his wife, were returned to Brazil in 1921 in time for the centenary of the Brazilian independence. The government granted Pedro&nbsp;II dignities befitting a head of state.{{sfn|Calmon|1975|pp=1914–1915}}{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=405}} A national holiday was declared and the return of the Emperor as a national hero was celebrated throughout the country.{{sfn|Schwarcz|1998|pp=503, 508}} Thousands attended the main ceremony in [[Rio de Janeiro]] where, according to historian [[Pedro Calmon]], the "elderly people cried. Many knelt down. All clapped hands. There was no distinction between republicans and monarchists. They were all Brazilians."{{sfn|Calmon|1975|p=1915}} This homage marked the reconciliation of Republican Brazil with its monarchical past.{{sfn|Barman|1999|p=405}}

Historians have expressed high regard for Pedro&nbsp;II and his reign. The scholarly literature dealing with him is vast and, with the exception of the period immediately after his ouster, overwhelmingly positive, and even laudatory.{{sfn|Schwarcz|1998|p=22}} He has been regarded by several historians in Brazil as the greatest Brazilian.{{sfn|Viana|1994|p=467}}{{sfn|Benevides|Azevedo|Alcântara|1979|p=61}} In a manner similar to methods which were used by republicans, historians point to the Emperor's virtues as an example to be followed, although none go so far as to advocate a restoration of the monarchy. Historian Richard Graham noted that "[m]ost twentieth-century historians, moreover, have looked back on the period [of Pedro&nbsp;II's reign] nostalgically, using their descriptions of the Empire to criticize—sometimes subtly, sometimes not—Brazil's subsequent republican or dictatorial regimes."{{sfn|Graham|1994|p=4}}