Second reign (Empire of Brazil)

The Second Reign in the Empire of Brazil spanned 49 years, from 23 July 1840, when Pedro de Alcântara was declared of age by the General Assembly and the regency ended, to 15 November 1889, when the republic was proclaimed and the parliamentary constitutional monarchy was abolished. This period saw Brazil grow and consolidate as an independent nation and a significant member of the American states, marked by major cultural progress. The army and navy were strengthened, notably during the Paraguayan War (1864–1870). Socially, slavery was gradually abolished, and European immigration was encouraged to supply the workforce. The arts—visual, literary, and theatrical—flourished, adapting European styles from Neoclassicism to Romanticism into a distinctly Brazilian culture. Urbanization expanded in major cities, railroads were built on a large scale to move consumer goods efficiently, and the country’s interior was developed. Electric telegraph lines connected Brazilian provinces and other South American nations, steamships modernized the merchant and war fleets, and the first telephone sets were acquired in 1877. The later 19th century saw an early modernization driven by the coffee economy in the Southeast, the end of the slave trade and gradual abolition of slavery, the shift to paid labor, and incentives for industry, which became important by the reign’s end. Calling this period the “Second Empire” is historically incorrect, as Brazil had one continuous imperial era, divided into the First and Second Reigns, separated by a nine-year regency—the country’s most turbulent time.

Pedro I abdicated on 7 April 1831, leaving the throne to his five-year-old son, Pedro de Alcântara (future Pedro II). This ended the First Reign and began the regency. A Provisional Triumviral Regency was formed on 17 July 1831, with representatives from the three main political groups: liberal senator Campos Vergueiro, conservative José Joaquim Carneiro de Campos, and military general Francisco de Lima e Silva. They held elections for a Permanent Triumviral Regency, which elected Bráulio Muniz, Costa Carvalho, and Lima e Silva to rule for three years. Meanwhile, Minister of Justice Diogo Feijó gained influence and pushed through the Additional Act in 1834, which abolished the triumviral system and created a single regency. Feijó was elected democratically, but the Additional Act failed,