Brazilian nobility
The Brazilian nobility (
History
Titles |
Dukedoms of Brazil |
Marquisates of Brazil |
Counties of Brazil |
Viscountcies of Brazil |
Baronies of Brazil |
The Brazilian nobility originated from the
According to the
During the reign of Dom Pedro II and the advent of the commercialization of coffee, it was the great coffee-growers who began to collect such titles, being acquaintances of the coffee barons. According to Affonso de Taunay, around 300 holders had their income linked to coffee: farmers, bankers and traders. The title of baron thus became a symbol of the legitimization of local power, making those who held it intermediaries between the people and the government.
During this period the
Republic
With the proclamation of the republic in 1889, the aristocracy was abolished and all Brazilian titles of nobility were banned. It was also prohibited, under penalty of accusation of
Acquisition
To be qualified for
A recipient had to pay the following fees depending on the title given, in contos de réis, according to the table of April 2, 1860:[3]
Register Value in 1860 | |
---|---|
Title | Value |
Duke | 2:450$000 |
Marquis | 2:020$000 |
Count | 1:575$000 |
Viscount | 1:025$000 |
Baron | 750$000 |
In addition to these amounts, there were the following costs:
- Roles for the petition: 366$000
- Coat of arms registration: 170$000
A list of possible grantees was drawn up by the Council of Ministers, with recommendations from their colleagues, provincial presidents, other nobles, politicians, senior officials, and other influential people. The lists were sent to the approval of the Emperor, being presented, twice a year: December 2, the anniversary of the Emperor; March 14 or 25, respectively, the anniversary of the Empress and the anniversary of the oath of the Constitution of the Brazilian Empire of 1824—the first Brazilian constitutional charter.
Some Brazilian nobles were given the distinction "with grandeeship," which allowed them to use in their coat of arms the crown of the next higher title—for example, a baron could wear the viscount's coronet on his coat of arms. Also, a Grandee of the Empire enjoyed other privileges and precedence that holders of the next superior title enjoyed. The grandeeship was conferred on 135 barons, who used the viscomital coronet in their coats of arms, and 146 viscounts, who used the comital coronet.
Registration of nobility
All records of the nobility were made in the books of the
Throughout the entirety of the Empire's existence, 1,211 titles of nobility were created: 3 dukes, 47 marquises, 51 counts, 235 viscounts and 875 barons. The total number of recipients, however, was lower—around 980—as many received more than one title. These numbers are not entirely accurate, as there are doubts about the validity and even the existence of some titles. Much of this doubt stems from the loss of some of the records of the Office of Nobility and Knighthood during the Brazilian First Republic.
Untitled nobility
Brazilian nobility comprised also a large body of untitled nobles, some ennobled for life by holding civic or military offices, and others by tradition. In the first class stood all people distinguished by imperial honorific orders; all officers-majors (oficiais-mores) working for the Court;[4] high military officers;[5] high magistrates such as State councillors, judges, senators and ministers, as well as big merchants, lawyers and doctors of liberal arts.[6][7][8] The second group of hereditary untitled nobility was comprised by the landed gentry.[9]
Symbols
Royal titles
Emperor (Imperador)
|
Prince Imperial of Brazil (Príncipe Imperial do Brasil) | Prince of Grão-Pará (Príncipe do Grão-Pará) | Prince of Brazil (Príncipe do Brasil) |
Noble titles
Duke (Duque) | Marquis (Marquês)
|
Count (Conde) | Viscount (Visconde) | Baron (Barão) |
Famous nobles
Dukes
- Auguste de Beauharnais, Duke of Santa Cruz, Prince Consort of Portugal
- Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias, military general
- Isabel Maria de Alcântara, Duchess of Goiás, illegitimate daughter of Emperor Pedro I
Marquesses
- Pedro de Araújo Lima, Marquis of Olinda
- Domitila de Castro do Canto e Melo, Marchioness of Santos
- Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, 1st Marquess of Maranhão
- Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná
- Manuel Luís Osório, Marquis of Erval
Counts
- Joaquim Xavier Curado, Count of São João das Duas Barras
- Luísa Margarida de Barros Portugal, Countess of Barral
- Mariana Carlota de Verna Magalhães Coutinho, Countess of Belmonte
- Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre
Viscounts
- Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay, Viscount of Taunay
- Afonso Celso, Viscount of Ouro Preto
- Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen, Viscount of Porto Seguro
- Irineu Evangelista de Sousa, Viscount of Mauá
- José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco
- Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of Inhaúma
- Domingos Custódio Guimarães, Viscount of Rio Preto
- Joaquim Henrique de Araújo, Viscount of Pirassununga
Barons
- José Maria da Silva Paranhos Júnior, Baron of Rio Branco
- Henrique Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Baron of Paraná
- Gregório Francisco de Miranda, Baron of Abadia (1795 - 1850)
- Maria Izabel Cardoso Gusmão, baronese of Abadia
- Domingos Custódio Guimarães Filho, Baron of Rio Preto
- José Pedro da Motta Sayão, Baron of Pilar
References
- ^ Les manuscrits du C.E.D.R.E. – Dictionnaire Historique et Généalogique, vol. III. Le Royaume de Portugal, L’Empire du Brésil. Cercle d'Études des Dynasties Royales Européennes (president, Jean-Fred Tourtchine), Paris, 1987, p. 51. (French). ISSN 0764-4426.
- ^ Vainfas 2002, p. 554.
- ^ "FERNANDES, Aníbal de Almeida. Nobreza Brasileira e a Dinastia Bragança. Junho, 2008". www.historianet.com.br.
- ^ Camargo, Angélica Ricci. "Casa Imperial". In: Dicionário da Administração Pública Brasileira do Período Imperial. Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública, 11/11/2016
- ^ Torres, João Camilo de Oliveira. A Democracia Coroada: Teoria política do Império do Brasil. Edições da Câmara dos Deputados, 2017, pp. 475–479
- ^ Bicalho, Maria Fernanda Baptista. "Conquista, Mercês e Poder Local: a nobreza da terra na América portuguesa e a cultura política do Antigo Regime". In: Revista Eletrônica Almanack Braziliense, 2005 (2)
- ^ Rosolen, Solange Montanher. Educação e Processo Civilizador: A presença de alunos brasileiros na reforma do ensino jurídico da Universidade de Coimbra (1772–1827). Universidade Estadual de Maringá, 2017, pp. 204–207.
- ^ Nogueira, Gabriel Parente. Viver à Lei da Nobreza. Appris, 2018
- ^ Mello, Evaldo Cabral de. O imaginário da restauração pernambucana. Topbooks, 1997, pp. 181–187
Literature
- Schwarcz, Lilia Moritz. As barbas do Imperador: D. Pedro II, um monarca nos trópicos. 2. Ed. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1998.
- Vainfas, Ronaldo (2002). Dicionário do Brasil Imperial (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva. ISBN 978-85-7302-441-8.