José Bonifácio was the source who
gave the orientation, the form, the doctrine, the guidance, the
intellect, and strategy, the combination of which resulted in the
liberty and unity of the new Brazilian nation. Without José
Bonifácio the country Brazil in its current form would not exist
today.
Through Jose Bonifacio, French culture
and philosophy had a major impact in Brazilian history. The greatest
French influence on Brazilian culture came as a result of the French
Revolution, when José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva was studying in
Paris at the Royal School of Mines in the years 1790 - 1792. During
that period he was studying under many world famous scientists of the
time, including Vauquelin, Antonio Lourenço Jussie, Jean-Antoine
Chaptal, Antoine François Fourcroy and Antoine Laurent Lavoisier.
José Bonifácio got to know Lavoisier
well because both of them were interested in geology. He also had a
personal friendship with Vauquelin, Fourcroy and Chaptal and through
them he met their good friend Maximilien Robespierre.
These men had one thing in common: they
were members of one of the most influential political clubs of the
French Revolution – the Club Breton ; later their members become
known as the Jacobins. The Jacobin Club counted among its early
members Mirabeau, Abbé Sieyès, Barnave, Pétion, the Duc
d'Aiguillon and Robespierre. José Bonifácio had direct exposure
during this period to the best intellectual minds of that time that
were having a major impact on the events of the French Revolution.
He traveled a lot around Europe during
1793 - 1800, but his favorite place was Paris and he stopped in Paris
every time he had the chance. This decade (1790 -1800) is the period
that had the major influence on the formation of his intellectual,
cultural, scientific, and political thoughts that helped him in the
fulfillment of his destiny as a great statesman.
Before Jose Bonifacio arrived in Brazil
in 1819 to become the architect of Brazilian independence he already
had accomplished more than most people ever will accomplish on their
entire lives.
He returned to Brazil in 1819 to retire
at age 56. He had accomplished a lot up to that point. He was a
world-class scientist recognized in all major scientific centers of
Europe of the time. He had had many top positions and
responsibilities in the Portuguese government in Portugal. Among his
many positions, in May 1801 he was appointed General Superintendent
of Mines and Metals of the Kingdom and member of the Tribunal of
Mines. He was responsible for the mint of the kingdom plus the mines
and forests of the Portuguese empire.
The
Brazilian nation has reason to be proud of its intellectual roots;
since its roots are connected to the French Revolution, and its
intellectual minds. France was the major superpower in the world
during that period of time (1750-1815), and Paris was the major
artistic, scientific, and intellectual center of that time. The
French Revolution had a major impact on world history, since that was
the revolution that changed the world.
It is a fact that the French had a
major influence on the formation of the intellectual, cultural,
scientific, and political thoughts of Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e
Silva.
Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva used
to go almost on a daily basis to see first hand the Constitutional
Debate in Paris during the period 1790 – 1791 at the Constituent
Assembly. And he participated of the meetings at the Jacobin Club,
and he became friends with the most influential thinkers of the
French Revolution. He became a friends with people such as
Robespierre, Condorcet, Abbe Sieyes, and the Comte de Mirabeau among
others.
Jose Bonifacio knew very well and had
first hand experience of the entire process and everything that was
covered for the French to arrive at the final Constitution - the
document that they finally adopted.
In 1823, the Andrada brothers (José
Bonifácio, Martim Francisco and Antônio Carlos), with their
leadership, had a major impact on the Constituent Assembly. They
guided the proceedings of the process of framing the first Brazilian
Constitution. This Constitution was effective December 13, 1823. They
used as a model the French Constitution of 1816 which is also
referred to as the "Lamartine Constitution".
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