Miguel had just finished reading Oliveira's letter. After taking some time to compose himself over the news of his father's death, he was pacing up and down as he pondered what to do next. He had no doubt that the argument Oliveira had made was sound: he was indeed the rightful King of Portugal and the Algarves, and Pedro's liberalism could only end in disaster. But, on the other hand, from what he had heard about the political situation in Brazil, it was not going to be easy for Pedro if he wanted to be the ruler of both countries. What's more, Miguel thought, he is my brother after all. If he tries to remain as King, or to impose liberalism on the country, then I may need to act, but for now, I'll wait and see.
"So", announced Pedro proudly, "I have finally completed the new Constitutional Charter for Portugal. The legislative power shall be vested in a Cortes, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies elected by local assemblies that are in turn chosen by male tax-paying property owners, and a Chamber of Peers, whose members shall be hereditary lords. The King will wield the executive power, to be exercised through his ministers, and also the moderating power. He shall also have an absolute veto on legislation. All Portuguese citizens shall enjoy freedom of expression, freedom from arbitrary arrest and the right to property."
Pedro stood up from his chair, triumphantly waving the document. The ministers and foreign envoys standing around the state room in the Imperial Palace applauded. Once they had finished, Pedro sat back down and turned his attention to the next document on his desk, which read as follows:
"I Dom Pedro IV, King of Portugal and the Algarves, do hereby and irrevocably renounce the throne of the above kingdoms in favour of my most dearly beloved daughter, Dona Maria da Glória - I shall also renounce my Portuguese nationality. My beloved sister, Dona Isabel, shall serve as Regent until my dearest brother, Dom Miguel shall turn 25, at which point he shall assume the regency, on condition that he swears allegiance to the Constitutional Charter and to the Queen, and that he agrees to a contract of marriage to Her Majesty."
Pedro signed the deed of abdication, before his eyes turned to the third document on his desk.
"We have here two copies of the Constitutional Charter and the deed of my abdication in favour of my daughter, Dona Maria da Glória", he announced, "as well as the contract for the marriage of Queen Maria to Dom Miguel. One copy of the Charter and the deed are to be sent to Dona Isabel in Lisbon, with instructions given to her to promulgate them and proclaim the new Queen of Portugal and the Algarves. The other copies of those documents, and the marriage contract, are to be sent to Dom Miguel in Vienna, with a request for him to make the commitments stipulated in the deed of abdication."
The very next day, it was time to finally open the General Assembly. Pedro strode confidently into the chamber to the sound of trumpets, and then took his place on the throne, where he began to read out his speech:
"Gentlemen, I am very pleased that you are all gathered here on this historic day, when the General Assembly can finally begin to function as envisaged in the Constitution that I have given this empire. The Constitution did not come about in the manner originally envisaged, of course: I dissolved the Constituent Assembly to my regret and for reasons not unknown to you. Revolutions do not arise from the system, but rather from those who, in its shadow, seek to gain their private ends. The greater part of the senators and deputies ought to be very conscious that the ills suffered by some nations are caused by the lack of respect due to the established authorities when they, instead of being prosecuted and tried in accord with the law and universal justice, are attacked and belittled."
There were gasps and alarmed expressions from many of the senators and deputies at these words, but Pedro did not appear to notice.
"Is he going to do to us what he did to those 16 men he executed?", muttered Pinto.
"The entire Empire is tranquil", Pedro continued, "except for the Cisplatine province. Ungrateful men who owe much to Brazil have risen against her and are now supported by the government of Buenos Aires, currently at war with us. The national honour requires that the Cisplatine province be retained, since we have sworn to maintain the integrity of the Empire."
Pedro looked up at the senators and deputies, expecting that they would cheer this point: instead, to his surprise, he was met by silence and stony expressions
"Fight a war for Cisplatina?", said Pinto under his breath. "A place where there is scarcely a slave? A place that is bound to become a bastion of subversive abolitionism? Like the north of the United States?"
Pedro now moved on to more personal matters: "The independence of Brazil was recognised by my august father, Dom João VI, of glorious memory, on November 15th last year; it was subsequently recognised by Austria, England, Sweden and France."
"Yes, indeed", whispered Pinto, "at the cost of heavy reparations to Portugal, and letting your father call himself our Emperor and claim that he was voluntarily giving Brazil to you."
"On April 24th", Pedro went on, "the anniversary of the embarkation for Portugal of my father Dom João VI, I received the unhappy and unexpected news of his death. Those few Brazilians who still doubted now know (as they should already have known) that my interest in Brazil and love of its independence is so strong that I abdicated the crown of the Portuguese monarchy, which was mine by indisputable right."
"But you're still going to be involved in Portuguese politics, as Dona Maria's father", was Pinto's verdict.
Pedro had now reached the final part of his speech.
"You should pay particular attention to the education of the young of both sexes, the public treasury, all the other public institutions and above all, to both the passage of the regulatory laws and the repeal of those patently contrary to the Constitution. I also urge you to adopt a plan to deal with slavery. Slavery is the cancer that is gnawing away at Brazil, and it must be eradicated. Slavery has made us into a backward country, and this backwardness, the immense and incalculable harm caused by slavery, is God's just punishment for our arrogating to ourselves a right to which we are not entitled, because I don't believe that men have any right at all to enslave one another. Slavery is also an obstacle to constitutional rule, as every slave master, from the time he was a child, has looked upon his fellow man with scorn, accustoming himself to act on his own will, unrestrained by any law. Because of slavery, we cease to be industrious, and make no invention at all. Slavery is also inefficient: we can never truly prosper without free immigrants from Europe, who, as the experience of the United States proves, only come to places where slavery has been abolished."
But Pedro had not come just to denounce slavery: he also had a solution in mind. The murmurings in the chamber had grown so loud that he could now hear them, but he kept on:
"I propose that the merchants of human flesh receive public assistance, in the form of imperial bonds, to convert slave ships so they will carry free European immigrants instead. The provinces shall fund immigrant voyages, while the imperial government will fund the passage of those who agree to serve the State for a certain number of years. I also propose that two years after the adoption of this scheme, both the importation of slaves from Africa, and the purchasing of slaves in Brazil herself, shall be prohibited. I firmly believe that if you adopt this plan, little by little, the cancer that is gnawing on Brazil will be cured. You have seen how I am gradually freeing my own slaves: those I have already manumitted have been granted homesteads and subsistence plots on the Santa Cruz estate. If you agree to the plan I have proposed, Brazil will be transferred into a truly modern and prosperous society, by the labour of freedmen and of European immigrants."
Pedro had finished: he scanned the chamber for reactions, and was disappointed to receive only tepid applause. Whispers of "He wants to take away our slaves!" spread quickly around the room. Pinto slowly but resolutely got to his feet.
"Your Imperial Majesty", he said, "first of all I am sure that the whole of this Assembly will join in the sincerest congratulations on the birth of your son and heir. We also will join in applauding your decision to abdicate the throne of Portugal. However, we also have severe concerns over the humiliating treaty that you concluded with Dom João, and over your ill-advised war in Cisplatina. Already we see the provinces suffering owing to the great many men who have been conscripted to fight in this war, and how harshly those poor men have been treated, with up to 1000 having died in transit to the area of conflict. We also cannot ignore the high cost of maintaining the blockade of Buenos Aires. But perhaps out biggest concerns of all are over Your Majesty's proposals concerning Negro slavery. It is slavery that is the very foundation of this country: it was slavery that made Spain, France and England great in past years, it was slavery that caused Brazil to prosper after your father's arrival nearly 20 years ago, and it is slavery that is powering the rapid growth of the south of the United States. And has Your Majesty forgotten the massacres, the rapes, the mutilations perpetrated by the Negroes of St. Domingo? Have you no regard for the safety of the white man? Or the white woman?"
Pedro jumped up from his throne, his cheeks flushed.
"For the avoidance of doubt", he asserted, "I do not at all desire to see the horrors of St. Domingo visited on this country: instead I look to the gradual, peaceful and successful emancipations in Spanish America and the northern part of the United States. I truly believe that my proposal will make Brazil both more prosperous and more harmonious, for no man can truly be safe in his bed if he oppresses other men. As you all know, I have said it before, and I will say it again: our blood and the blood of the Negroes are the same colour."
The senators and deputies stared at him.
"But slavery is truly in the best interests of the Negro", insisted Pinto. "It teaches him honest industry and morality, it makes him into a Christian, and it civilises him. It prevents him from acting out his savage impulses: St. Domingo shows clearly what happens when his shackles are removed."
The chamber burst into applause: Pedro stood open-mouthed.
"The Emperor is the greatest enemy of Brazil."
These were the opening words of a newspaper article by Líbero Badaró, an Italian-born journalist.
"He has no loyalty to Brazil", the article continued. "He is Portuguese by birth, Portuguese by blood, and Portuguese by inclination. He surrounds himself with Portuguese advisers and flatterers: his allegiance lies not to this country, but to our former oppressors. He signed a treaty with Portugal that was a far greater insult to us than anything the old Cortes did. Be in no doubt: he means to suppress the Constitution he claims to uphold, and reunite us with Portugal. He cannot be trusted to uphold the liberties that we shed so much blood for, for he belongs to the class which contains the greatest enemies of liberty in the world: the royal tyrants of Europe. As did his father in Portugal, as did his uncle in Spain, so in Brazil the Emperor will seize an opportunity to restore despotism. We must be vigilant at all times against his evil designs."
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