“José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva - The Greatest Man in Brazilian History”
By: Ricardo C. Amaral
http://alpha.fdu.edu/~amaral/index.html
Book by: Ricardo C. Amaral Published in May 2000
Subject: Brazilian History - The independence of Brazil.
Quoting from this book:
CHAPTER II
José Bonifácio Returns to Brazil in 1819
"José Bonifácio arrived in Brazil before the end of 1819 after being away for thirty six years, of which he lived twenty six years in Portugal. He was fifty six years old, which was considered old for that time. He brought with him his library (6,000 books) and his collection of minerals which he considered the best in the world at that time."1
"In November 15, 1820 José Bonifácio's younger brother Martim Francisco Ribeiro de Andrada (he was twelve years younger than José Bonifácio) married José Bonifácio's daughter Gabriela Frederica Ribeiro de Andrada"2 (she was his niece, Martim Francisco was 45 years old and Gabriela Frederica was 16 or 17 years old).
"Martim Francisco was very close to his older brother José Bonifácio and they had a lot in common, from the same degrees in formal education to their passion for scientific exploration in geology and mineralogy. Their political careers inside and outside of the government followed a parallel path."3
When José Bonifácio was the Prime Minister of the Empire, Martim Francisco was the Finance Minister of the Empire. When José Bonifácio resigned from that position Martim Francisco resigned on the same day. When the emperor asked Jose Bonifacio to come back as Prime Minister, Martim Francisco also returned as Finance Minister. When José Bonifácio was sent into exile in France, both his brothers Martim Francisco and Antônio Carlos also went in exile with their families.
"King Dom Joäo VI enjoyed his life in Brazil, and he loved Rio de Janeiro. The French had long been expelled from Portugal and Napoleon's fate had been sealed for good, but Dom Joäo VI wanted to stay in Brazil and he had no desire to return to Portugal to the constant intrigues of the Portuguese Cortes.
European events finally forced the monarch's return to Portugal. In the year 1820 there was a rash of rebellions against absolute monarchies in Europe. Inspired by these revolts, Portuguese liberals rebelled in Oporto late in 1820 and demanded a constitution. The movement spread to Lisbon, and Dom Joäo VI was faced with the choice of returning to Portugal to fight for his crown or of losing it. Reluctantly he chose to return."4
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"On April 26, 1821 King Joäo VI the Royal family and the Portuguese court left Brazil to return to Portugal, but the King left his oldest son Prince Dom Pedro as the Regent in Brazil."5 The Prince was only 22 years old and lacked any formal education, since he was very young and disliked studying. He spent most of his time riding horses and playing with his bulls.
"When Dom Joäo VI left Brazil with over four thousand people, these people had wealth and when all of them withdrew their assets from Banco do Brazil at the same time, they left the bank in a very difficult and poor financial situation."6
"After arriving in Portugal in mid 1821, Dom Joäo VI found himself completely powerless. He had even less power than the Prince Regent, who had been left in Brazil. He had lost all of his executive powers and the Portuguese government was reacting against everything he had done in Brazil in the last thirteen years."7
"The Portuguese Parliament called the Cortes Gerais de Portugal (Cortes), for all its professed liberalism, favored a constitutional monarchy. The members were extremely hostile toward Brazil and determined that Brazil should be deprived of its coequal status with Portugal. The members of the Cortes attempted to abolish the privileges granted by Dom Joäo VI and devise other ways to weaken Brazil. They passed a number of measures to accomplish that goal. The Cortes commanded that Dom Pedro's ministers be appointed from Lisbon, and in late 1821 the Cortes ordered Dom Pedro to return to Portugal to complete his education."8
By the end of 1821 the Prince was ready to leave and return to Portugal to comply with the orders received from the Cortes. José Bonifácio played a major role in convincing the Prince to stay in Brazil. The Prince changed his mind and decided to stay in Brazil defying the Cortes' orders.
"On April 23, 1821, before the King had left Brazil, when the people were meeting in Säo Paulo they decided to have elections and form a provisory government in Säo Paulo. They chose José Bonifácio to be the speaker. José Bonifácio told them that it was an honor for him to preside over the elections of the provisory government. He told them that for the happiness of his motherland he would make any sacrifice, and he would even spill the last drop of his blood."9
"José Bonifácio chose for President of Säo Paulo, Joäo Carlos Augusto de Ocynhausen. The people's reply was very cold and the people requested that José Bonifácio accept at least the position of Vice-President.
Page 11
After José Bonifácio accepted the position they continued with the elections until all the new government members were selected. A brother of José Bonifácio (Martim Francisco Ribeiro de Andrada) was chosen as Interior and Finance Minister of the new government of Säo Paulo. Among the six deputies (deputados) who were elected to serve at the Cortes in Lisbon was another brother of José Bonifácio (Antônio Carlos Ribeiro de Andrada Machado)."10
"Antônio Carlos had just been released from prison and was lucky to be alive after he participated in 1817 in a republican and Mason revolution in Pernambuco."11 In 1817, "the portuguese navy blockaded the ports while a sizable Portuguese force from Bahia crushed the rebellion with severity. Most of the leaders in that uprising were put to death. Antônio Carlos' life was spared because they knew that he was a brother of the famous scientist José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva."12
"In a letter dated July 17, 1821 from the Prince Dom Pedro to his father the king, he mentioned the elections in Säo Paulo and he told his father that José Bonifácio was the Vice-President and that they owed to him the fact that they had tranquility in the Province of Säo Paulo."13
"In a decree of October 1, 1821 the Cortes requested the immediate return of the Prince to Portugal and they ordered the Captaincies to report directly to Lisbon instead of Rio de Janeiro."14
"On December 9, 1821 an order from the Cortes was received in Rio de Janeiro to elect an government junta and to accelerate the return of the Prince to Portugal."15
"The Prince wrote back to his father on the same day saying; "as soon they elect the new junta I will turn over the government and will return immediately to Portugal as per your decree. I will take even the Fragata Uniäo, because from this day on I do not want to have any influence in the Brazilian affairs.""16
"The Captaincy of Pará and Maranhäo in the north of Brazil answered directly to Lisbon and not to Rio de Janeiro. After the radical changes by the Cortes, cutting completely Dom Pedro's authority, Brazil was without an effective central government. Not the Regent or the junta or anyone had real authority in Brazil."17
"The Captaincy of Pará submitted a request to become a province of Portugal. The Captaincy of Bahia governed by a junta of six Portugueses and three Brazilians, requested from Portugal that they send more Portuguese soldiers. After the new soldiers arrived the Portuguese got stronger in the Province of Bahia."18
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"When the order of the Cortes arrived saying that Bahia, Pará, Maranhäo, Pernambuco and Minas Gerais should communicate directly with Lisbon, Dom Pedro wrote to his father saying that he was happy to be the Governor of only Rio de Janeiro."19
"José Bonifácio did not waste any time. He sent people from Säo Paulo to agitate the people in Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Goiás, and Mato Grosso. He found out that the people from these provinces were also loyal Brazilians."20
"On December 24, 1821 José Bonifácio wrote a very nasty and violent letter to Dom Pedro describing his thoughts regarding the actions taken by the Portuguese Cortes. He listed the Cortes' actions item by item and told Dom Pedro "you stay on our side, or do not doubt for a second we will get the arms to fight for our independence from Portugal". He also wrote; "If you accept the Cortes decree of September 29, 1821, you will lose not only your dignity as a man but also as a Prince. You will turn yourself into a slave of the Cortes and you will be responsible under heaven for the river of blood which will run in Brazil"."21
"The letter was delivered to Dom Pedro in Rio de Janeiro on January 1, 1822 at 8:00 PM."22 "The letter made Dom Pedro very happy, because that was the first sign that he was wanted in Brazil and the possibility that if he stayed in Brazil he might be their new king. Dom Pedro called a trusted friend and gave him a copy of this letter from José Bonifácio. He asked this friend to show the letter around to all trusted Brazilian patriots. It was a mission done well.
José Bonifácio sent a letter to the government in Minas Gerais asking them to join Säo Paulo in the coming fight for independence. They received the letter on January 8, 1822 and on the same day they sent the answer that they would stand by José Bonifácio when the fighting began."23
"Dom Pedro wrote to his father to inform him that Säo Paulo had rejected all orders from the Cortes and that they had Minas Gerais on their side. He also wrote " José Bonifácio is writing to all the provinces. What am I supposed to do ? The opinion is all against the Cortes everywhere."
Pressed to stay in Brazil on January 9, 1822 Dom Pedro declared: "FICO" "I Will Remain." José Bonifácio arrived in Rio de Janeiro on January 17, 1822 and on the same day Dom Pedro asked him to be his Prime Minister. Never before had there been a Brazilian Minister, José Bonifácio was the first Brazilian to rise to the position of Minister."24
Page 13
"José Bonifácio created the situation which ended with the "FICO." Before the "FICO" Dom Pedro always had good relations with the Andrada Family, and he had great admiration and respect for José Bonifácio."25
"Dona Leopoldina, wife of Dom Pedro also admired José Bonifácio and she was his very good friend."26 Dona Leopoldina was Archduchess Leopoldina Josepha Carolina of Hapsburg, daughter of the Austrian Emperor, sister of Marie Louise Bonaparte, and niece of Marie Antoinette. She was kind hearted, intelligent and the Brazilians loved her.
CHAPTER IV
The Brazilian Declaration of Independence
José Bonifácio decided that it was time for Brazilian independence and he started putting his plans in motion.
"José Bonifácio had asked the Prince to go to the province of Minas Gerais in the past when they were in the state of rebellion."1 "In the early days of August 1822 José Bonifácio asked the Prince Dom Pedro to go to the province of Säo Paulo to calm things down as he had done before in Minas Gerais."2
"In a decree written by José Bonifácio dated August 13, 1822, he appointed Dona Leopoldina as the substitute of the Prince Regent during his absence. The detail of the document shows that she was authorized to call an emergency meeting of the States Advisory Council, if she had to take urgent measures for the goodwill and salvation of the State. There was one restriction, any decision required the ratification and the approval of José Bonifácio."3
"It was obvious that José Bonifácio had planned in advance Dom Pedro's trip to Säo Paulo and Santos. José Bonifácio wanted the final "Cry of Independence" to happen in Säo Paulo instead of in Rio de Janeiro in front of his political enemies."4
"On September 1, 1822 José Bonifácio on behalf of Dona Leopoldina called for a meeting of the Council of the Ministers and the representatives of the provinces."5 "The meeting was presided over by Dona Leopoldina. Martim Francisco proposed that Brazil declare its independence from Portugal. This idea was defended with a lot of energy by José Bonifácio and got the support of the other Ministers. They entrusted Martim Francisco with the job of drafting and sending the document declaring the decision to the Prince."6
After reviewing the detail with José Bonifácio, Martim Francisco drafted the "Declaration of Independence of Brazil" which was immediately sent to the Prince.
"José Bonifácio was not satisfied as yet. He decided to write a personal letter to the Prince and he asked Dona Leopoldina to write one as well. José Bonifácio gave suggestions to Dona Leopoldina about the content of her letter to the Prince. She followed the suggestions of her old friend José Bonifácio.
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The letters of José Bonifácio and Dona Leopoldina were sent to the Prince together with the document prepared by Martim Francisco."7
"On September 7, 1822 Dom Pedro and his retinue of attendants were in the outskirts of Säo Paulo by the Ipiranga River when a messenger overtook him with the dispatches and letters from José Bonifácio and Dona Leopoldina suggesting that the time was ripe for declaring the independence of Brazil."8 "After reading the dispatches Dom Pedro declared the independence of Brazil - "Independence or Death"."9
There were other important decisions that were made by José Bonifácio during this period.
"José Bonifácio was responsible for the creation of the Brazilian army and navy. First, he hired a French general called General Pedro Labatut to head and help organize the army."10
"Second, he asked the Marques de Barbacena, the Brazilian diplomatic agent in London, to hire English officers and sailors for the new Brazilian navy. Barbacena following the request hired and sent to Brazil around four hundred men. He suggested to José Bonifácio the name of Admiral Cochrane to head the navy. He was a great Admiral; greedy, audacious, loved adventure, was not afraid of taking risks; however, he was a man without scruples.
José Bonifácio learned that Lord Thomas Cochrane was very unhappy with the Chilean government which he had helped with their independence. The Chilean government owed money to Cochrane but he was having a problem receiving the money.
José Bonifácio sent a letter dated November 4, 1822 to the Brazilian consul in Buenos Aires requesting him to offer Lord Cochrane twelve thousand patacões (currency of the time) per year also as part of the deal the Brazilian government would take responsibility for the Chilean debt of sixty thousand patacões which Cochrane was having a problem collecting.
José Bonifácio knew that he needed a navy to be able to unite Brazil. He organized the Ministry of Navy after the independence on September 7, 1822. He asked Lord Cochrane to take the position of First Admiral and made an agreement in which he would stay in that position until Portugal recognized the independence of Brazil, and he would help in the defense of the new country.
Lord Cochrane brought with him some other British officers, among them, Norton, Greenfel, Crosby, Shepperd and Jewett. Some of these British officers died defending Brazil."11
Page 22
José Bonifácio sent Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane to rid the Portuguese garrisons from Maranhäo to Montevidéo. After Lord Cochrane encountered action with some Portuguese warships off Bahia the Portuguese did not threaten Brazil by sea from then on. By February 1824, when the Portuguese government ordered its Montevidéo garrison to withdraw, the Brazilian royal authority had been established in all of the coastal cities in Brazil. This was the final step in achieving the political unity of Brazil.
The army and the navy played an important role by beating the Portuguese army and navy when they engaged in battle. There was some bloodshed but it was kept to a minimum. The situation was so explosive that any minor miscalculation at that point would have turned into a nasty civil war in Brazil from north to south. The result would have been the breakdown of the country Brazil into five or six independent new countries.
"José Bonifácio's decisions projected a firm, decisive and powerful image of his administration also in his foreign policy. In his diplomatic letter to the American Consul in Rio de Janeiro P. Sartoris in which he appointed a diplomat to represent Brazil in the US, José Bonifácio wrote " Dear Sir: Brazil is a nation and will take its place as such, without expecting or requesting its recognition by the other world powers. We will send them representatives of our nation. Those nations who receive and deal with them in that capacity will continue to be allowed to use our ports and their commerce will receive favorable status. The nations that refuse our diplomats will excluded from our ports and commerce. This is our frank and firm politics."
He also sent a similar letter to Chamberlain the English representative in Brazil."12
"José Bonifácio also formulated international politics for the hemisphere with the tendency to protect other American nations which had aspirations of political emancipation. In his instructions to the Brazilian diplomat representing Brazil in Buenos Aires, José Bonifácio in his diplomatic correspondence dated May 30, 1822 wrote; "After you have skillfully persuaded that the interests of this Kingdom are the same as that of the other States of this hemisphere, and of the part that they will play in our destinies, you will promise them from our country the solemn recognition of the political independence of these Governments and you will lay out the incalculable utilities which can result from forming a Confederation or a defensive and offensive treaty with Brazil, to go against with the other Governments of the Spanish America to the extraordinary European political manipulations.
Page 23 The "Andrada Doctrine" is more precise and more courageous than the well known "Monroe Doctrine" laid out by the United States President in his message to Congress in December 2, 1823.
There is a certain resemblance between both doctrines, but we have to recognize and give credit to José Bonifácio for being the first to expose his thoughts and making a policy in that regard for the hemisphere. José Bonifácio preceded the American President by more than one and a half years, and we also have to point out that he did it three months before the actual date of Brazilian independence."13
"Among the most important instructions that José Bonifácio prepared were the documents to his European diplomats, especially the ones sent to London, Paris and Vienna. The documents sent to London and to Paris are considered masterpieces in diplomatic ability, because of the message that they convey regarding the outstanding maneuvering during the independence process and the negotiations related to Brazil's recognition."14
"José Bonifácio made the decision concerning the new Brazilian flag right after the Brazilian independence on September 18, 1822. The flag had a green rectangle with a yellow lozenge and in the center the symbol of the new monarchy."15 That Brazilian flag design lasted until November 15, 1889 when Brazil changed its form of government from a constitutional monarchy to a constitutional Republic.
When the country changed from a monarchy to a republic the basic design of the flag was kept; the green rectangle and the yellow lozenge. They replaced the symbol of the monarchy with a blue circle with a white stripe with the following words written across in green letters "Order and Progress". Inside the blue circle they inserted twenty one stars representing each State plus one extra star representing the capital of the nation.
"José Bonifácio was the first one to suggest that the capital of Brazil should be moved to a more central location (in his writings he mentioned the exact location where he thought the new capital should be located). He also was the first one to suggest the name of the new capital should be "Brasília"."16
Page 24
CHAPTER V
José Bonifácio and the Masons
"In the early 1800's a famous Portuguese politician José Esteväo Coelho de Magalhäes declared, after he was elected "Grand Master of the Portuguese Masonic Confederation" in Portugal: "The Masonry should keep what it has conquered and should prepare itself for new conquests".
What had they conquered ?
The government was their conquest including all the high administrative positions in government. The Masons had a complete monopoly on power in Portugal since 1820. The Masons also played an important role during the French Revolution in France."1
"In Brazil, José Bonifácio had so much prestige and power at that point, that he was elected on May 28, 1822, "Grand Master" of the Grand Orient Masonic Lodge in Rio de Janeiro. He wanted to get the Masonic cooperation towards his efforts in the government."2
The first Brazilian Masonry Lodge opened in Salvador, Bahia in 1797. In May 28, 1822 they created a Masonic Lodge in Rio de Janeiro the "Grande Oriente do Brasil" and José Bonifácio was elected its first "Grand Master".
"The Masons were divided into two groups in Brazil as they were in Portugal; the red Masons and the blue Masons. The red Masons were the constitutionalists and they believed in French thought. The blue Masons were conservatives and they believed in English thought. José Bonifácio was the leader of the blue Masons."3
Originally José Bonifácio wanted to keep Brazil in the Portuguese Commonwealth. He changed his mind only after he realized that the Cortes would not allow Brazil to keep coequal status with Portugal. From the moment he changed his mind, he did not look back and was one hundred percent in favor of Brazilian independence from Portugal.
Both groups of Masons were united in one sense, the two groups wanted a new republican form of government in Brazil. "José Bonifácio was against the Masons in that regard because he knew that if they had tried to become a republic at that time, the country was not ready, and Brazil would have fragmented itself into five or six new republican countries.
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There is no doubt that José Bonifácio believed in the republican form of government. The French Revolution had turned him into a republican, for the rest of his life."4
"On June 2, 1822 José Bonifácio founded a secret society called "Apostolado da Nobre Ordem dos Cavaleiros de Santa Cruz." At the inaugural meeting of this secret society the Prince and José Bonifácio were present. The Prince was elevated to the position of Arconte Rei and José Bonifácio to the position of Consul. Both of them signed the founding papers using nicknames. Dom Pedro signed his initials and the nickname "Romulus", and José Bonifácio signed his initials and the nickname "Tibiriçá."
The Apostolado were divided in three lodges named; "Independence or Death", "Union and Tranquility" and "Strength and Loyalty." The members had to swear to promote integrity, the independence of Brazil as a Kingdom, a new legitimate Constitution of the State, and opposition to despotism and anarchy."5
"Dom Pedro admired so much the words used by José Bonifácio, "Independence or Death", in the meeting of the inauguration of the secret society that later, at the actual time when he was proclaiming Brazilian independence he used these words himself."6
The famous "Grito do Ipiranga" ("Cry of Ipiranga"), the dramatic scene where Dom Pedro lifted up his sword to declare Brazilian independence from Portugal, happened at the Ipiranga River in the city of Säo Paulo. This is why it is called the "Grito do Ipiranga", but the words which Dom Pedro used at the critical moment "Independence or Death" have been immortalized in Brazilian history.
"Even though the Masons had elected José Bonifácio as the "Grand Master", they were angry with him. Everyone knew that José Bonifácio was the solely responsible for the Princes' change of mind to stay in Brazil. The Masons wanted the Prince to go back to Portugal and they wanted Brazil to go immediately to a republican form of government."7
"On October 12, 1822 (Dom Pedro's birthday) Dom Pedro was proclaimed Brazilian Emperor in the same palace in Rio de Janeiro where his father had been crowned King Dom Joäo VI in 1818.
José Bonifácio was the one that suggested that Dom Pedro be crowned Emperor instead of King."8
José Bonifácio from his position in the government became involved in a confrontation with the other faction of Masons of the Grand Orient Masonic Lodge. After independence their antagonism increased because the leaders of the other faction were trying to undermine José Bonifácio's influence with the Emperor.
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"When José Bonifácio found out that Dom Pedro had signed three blank pieces of paper as a condition for the Grand Orient Masonic Lodge to elevate him to the position of "Grand Master", on October 26, 1822, José Bonifácio immediately went to the Emperor to ask him why he had done such a thing. (It is not clear why the Masons asked Dom Pedro to sign the three pages of blank paper. What were the Masons planning to do with this document?)
...José Bonifácio explained to the Emperor the dangers that he had exposed himself to, and urged him to get back the blank pages of papers which he had signed. José Bonifácio also resigned from his Prime Minister position. His brother Martim Francisco followed with his resignation on the same day.
...Dom Pedro called the opposition leaders of the Grand Orient Masonic Lodge, asked them to return the signed blank pages and at the same time suspended any meetings at the Grand Orient Masonic Lodge for undetermined amount of time.
...The population requested that Dom Pedro ask the Andrada brothers to return to the government. On October 30, 1822 Dom Pedro went to José Bonifácio's house to ask him to return to his position as Prime Minister. Both Andrada brothers returned to their government positions."9
"After Dom Pedro became Emperor he started to believe that he was the author of everything that had happened. His position went to his head and he started to believe that he was a genius.
The evidence of Dom Pedro I's inferiority not only intellectually but also morally was shown at the time when José Bonifácio left the government. Vasconcellos de Drummond documented for us that Dom Pedro came to the point of saying on the occasion when José Bonifácio had left the Ministry: "Let the old man go with God, because I took from him all the knowledge he has !""10
"Dom Pedro I wanted to give José Bonifácio and to Martim Francisco the "Gran Crux of the Cruzeiro of the South" a very high honor in his view. He was very disappointed when José Bonifácio and Martim Francisco turned down that honor.
Dom Pedro also wanted to give José Bonifácio any noble title that he wanted, but José Bonifácio never accepted because he did not believe in false appearances, futile exteriors or things with no consistence."11
"The decree of April 14, 1823 fixed the date of April 17, 1823 for the preliminary meeting of the Constituent to prepare the first Brazilian Constitution and set the date of May 3, 1823 as the first normal meeting to start debating the detail of the constitution."12
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"In 1822 the Brazilian population was estimated at four million people (excluding the Native Brazilian Indians). This total included 1.4 million black slaves brought from Africa and another 2 million from European origin. From the two million people of European origin less than ten percent (less than 200 thousand people) were semi-literate. Brazil was a country populated by a very large uneducated population, with only very basic schooling, without universities, without much culture, basically the population in Brazil was very illiterate. (see chart-II on pg. 121)"13
José Bonifácio had been avoiding the Constituent Assembly at all costs because his first priority was to bring peace and unity to the country. He knew from experience what had transpired in France during the French Revolution. He knew that agitators with good intentions could precipitate the normal evolution of events with catastrophic results. Brazil needed peace and unity before the representatives of the various States started to disagree in the difficult process of creating a new Constitution for the new nation. He was in favor of a Constitution, but at the right time.
The Masons were pushing the government to set the date to start the debate of the Constitution. "José Bonifácio felt that the country was not ready, but he could not hold off any longer and set the date of May 3, 1823 to start the debates."14
"José Bonifácio did not have much faith in the realizations of large collective bodies. He did not believe that they were capable of elaborating a political code, coherent, organic, and systematic. He expressed these thoughts on September 2, 1823 in the newspaper "O Tamoio". He also thought that it would be impossible to find one hundred competent people to represent the States in the Constituent Assembly."15
"From the actual one hundred deputies (deputados) meeting at the Constituent Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, only a handful were good to excellent. Most of them were not prepared for such a task because they lacked schooling, experience in this type of procedure and many of them were just semi-literate. This group of people had the responsibility of framing a document reflecting the aspirations, needs, and worries of the Brazilian people.
...José Bonifácio represented the government. The opposition got united, even though without leadership to combat the existing government. José Bonifácio was the target of this attack.
The opposition would try anything to create a problem between the Great Andrada and the Emperor."16
Page 28
"Everything that went wrong in the Empire, including a dry season in the northwest area of Brazil or the Rio Grande overflowing, was blamed on José Bonifácio."17 "Dom Pedro was always absent when decisions were made. José Bonifácio was making all the decisions. This also helped after a time for Dom Pedro to start opposing his Minister."18
"A number of reasons contributed to the resignation of José Bonifácio from his Prime Minister position on July 15, 1823.
...The people started referring to Dom Pedro as José Bonifácio's helper. They also were saying that Dom Pedro was a puppet in José Bonifácio's hand.
...They started comparing José Bonifácio to Aranda, Richelieu and Pombal and saying that the time for this type of enlightened despots had passed."19
"Dom Pedro loved flattery and changed positions very often. The opposition used flattery as a tool to get their influence with the Emperor.
...José Bonifácio started getting irritated with the people who surrounded Dom Pedro, and started voting through his brother and soul mate Martim Francisco. Martim Francisco's vote was favorable on a project that profoundly divided the Constituent Assembly. That vote also united him with the Brazilian faction.
...That did not sit well with the Emperor since he was Portuguese. Dom Pedro started getting influenced by flattery from the people who surrounded him in his palace. He started believing that he was the author of everything, that he was a genius and national hero and thus his attitude towards José Bonifácio deteriorated very rapidly."20
"In the end, the real reason for José Bonifácio's resignation was the pressure that his powerful enemies were putting on the Emperor. José Bonifácio's enemies were too many and they were too powerful. José Bonifácio was openly against slavery and in favor of agrarian reform; that lethal combination gave the basis for the large landowners, slaveowners and slave traders to get united with only one objective in mind; to force José Bonifácio out of power. The reforms which José Bonifácio was proposing were ofensive to the interests of the colonial institutions."21
"On July 16, 1823, the day following José Bonifácio's resignation, Martim Francisco resigned from his Finance Minister position as well."22
"The major significance of these resignations at this point in time, was a major loss for Brazil as a country. These resignations may have cost Brazil a century in the process of moving forward and of real progress."23
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