RIO DE JANEIRO, IN THE LAND OF LURE 



201 



discovered land in Matto Grosso, named 

 for General Candido Rondon, the Bra- 

 zilian explorer. 



"independence: or death!" 



In 1 82 1 Dom Joao returned to Lisbon, 

 leaving his son, Pedro, behind. Brazil's 

 independence was foreshadowed, and in 

 his farewell letter to his boy the king 

 urged him "to place the crown on thine 

 own head rather than have it fall to an 

 adventurer," even though it meant their 

 lifelong separation. This led to that 

 fateful September hour in 1822 by the 

 River Ypiranga when Dom Pedro uttered 

 his battle-cry, "Independence or Death!" 

 Thus the seventh of September is the 

 Brazilian Fourth of July and "Ypiranga" 

 the slogan. 



In choosing the national hero, Brazil 

 named not Tiradentes, but Bonifacio — 

 Jose Bonifacio de Andrade e Silva — who 

 lived between 1763 and 1838. Born in 

 Santos, he went at eighteen to Portugal, 

 where he received degrees in law and 

 philosophy and fought for the mother 

 country against France. Returning to 

 Brazil as an educator when he was past 

 fifty, his name soon stood for his coun- 

 try's independence. It was he who per- 

 suaded Dom Pedro to proclaim the Bra- 

 zilian monarchy. He was a minister in 

 the first emperor's cabinet and tutor and 

 guide to his son, who became Pedro II. 

 His portrait represents a gentle, gray- 

 haired man with an intelligent, rather sad 

 face. 



Beyond the stirring Ypiranga prelude 

 and a magnificent equestrian statue com- 

 memorating independence, there are to- 

 day in the capital few reminders of Bra- 

 zil's first emperor. Owing to political 

 strife, he abdicated in 1831, retiring to 

 Europe, as his father had done, leaving 

 the throne to his son, then a child of six. 



EVERY INCH AN EMPEROR 



There is an historical painting which 

 brings the abdication scene to us. It is 

 night in the palace. Soft candle-light 

 fills the room. The emperor, tall and 

 grave, is standing near a group of men. 

 He hands the fateful document to the 

 minister. The empress, seated on a 

 divan, with her arms about a golden- 

 haired boy, weeps. A woman, kneeling, 



kisses the fair boy's hand — "Long live 

 Dom Pedro II !" 



And so Brazil's best beloved ruler, 

 whose long, useful life was devoted to 

 the welfare of his people, but whose old 

 age was so tragically embittered, came 

 into his own. 



Dom Pedro II is Brazil's biggest name. 

 He it was who led his country into the 

 brotherhood of great nations. With him 

 wisdom and kindliness were preeminent. 

 Every inch an emperor, he yet was ac- 

 cessible to the humblest of his subjects. 

 There is much in the city where he lived 

 for so many years still closely associated 

 with his rule, which ended only the other 

 day, as we count history — 1889. In the 

 coat of arms of the House of Braganca, 

 still to be seen on many of the buildings ; 

 such street names as Marquez de Sao 

 Vicente, Barao de Petropolis, Visconde 

 de Maranguape, and the titled Brazilians 

 one still meets in the country, we realize 

 that not so many years ago Rio de Ja- 

 neiro was the abode of royalty. 



A WOMAN'S HAND FREED 1, 500,000 

 SEAVES 



Closely associated with imperial rule 

 in its decline was the emperor's daughter, 

 Dona Isabel. While princess regent, 

 during one of her father's visits to Eu- 

 rope in search of health, she signed the 

 most vital decree ever issued in the coun- 

 try. I saw the original document in the 

 Hall of Archives and the pen, set with 

 diamonds and emeralds, with which the 

 princess signed it, the decree of May 13, 

 1888, which liberated 1,500,000 slaves. 



As early as 1580 there were 10,000 

 African slaves in the country, 20.000 

 "tame" Indians, 5,000 mamelucos of In- 

 dian and African blood, and 15.000 Por- 

 tuguese colonists. Following Dom Joao's 

 arrival, in 1808, 20,000 slaves were im- 

 ported annually. After Portugal recog- 

 nized Brazil's independence a convention 

 concluded between Great Britain and 

 Brazil, operative in 1830, made the carry- 

 ing on of the slave trade by Brazilians 

 illegal and to be treated as piracy. A 

 great number of negroes captured from 

 slave-runners by British vessels were 

 turned over to the Brazilian Government 

 as "free Africans." 



Great Britain afterward claimed that 



