The Early Republic
Instituted without compensation for the slave owners, emancipation alienated the powerful landed interests from the government. Moreover, sections of the Roman Catholic clergy were hostile to certain of Pedro’s policies, many leading army officers were secretly disloyal, and large sections of the populace favored a republic.
Fonseca and Peixoto
In November 1889 a military revolt under the leadership of General Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca forced the abdication of Pedro II. A republic was proclaimed, with Fonseca as head of the provisional government. Separation of church and state and other republican reforms were swiftly decreed. The drafting of a constitution was completed in June 1890. Similar to the Constitution of the United States, it was adopted in February 1891, and Brazil became a federal republic, officially styled the United States of Brazil. Fonseca was elected its first president.
Political turbulence, due essentially to the lack of national democratic traditions and experience, marked the early years of the new republic. During 1891 the arbitrary policies and methods of President Fonseca aroused strong congressional opposition. Early in November he dissolved the congress and assumed dictatorial power. A naval revolt later that month forced him to resign in favor of Vice President Floriano Peixoto. The Peixoto government, another dictatorial regime, survived a military and naval rebellion (1893-1894) and a series of uprisings in southern Brazil.
Civilian Rule
Order was gradually restored in the country during the administration of President Prudente José de Moraes Barros, the nation’s first civilian chief executive. Beginning in 1898, when Manuel Ferraz de Campos Salles, a former governor of São Paulo, became president, energetic measures to rehabilitate the dislocated national economy were adopted. By securing a large foreign loan, Campos Salles strengthened Brazilian finances and expanded trade and industry.
Coffee and rubber production had meanwhile increased steadily in Brazil. Between 1906 and 1910 falling coffee prices on the world market severely disrupted the national economy. The price of Brazilian rubber began to drop toward the close of this period. As a result, social and political unrest was widespread during the administration of President Hermes da Fonseca, a conservative and militarist. Wenceslau Braz Pereira Gomes, an industrialist, was elected to the presidency without opposition in 1914 and held office until 1918.
After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, rising demand in foreign markets for Brazilian coffee, rubber, and sugar considerably relieved the economic difficulties of the country. Brazil adopted a policy of neutrality in the early stages of the war, but as a consequence of German attacks on its shipping, the country severed diplomatic relations with Germany in August 1917. In October, Brazil entered the war on the side of the Allies. Naval units were sent to the fighting zones, and the nation’s contributions of food and raw materials to the war effort were substantial.
Industrial retrenchment and sharp curtailment of governmental expenditures were necessitated by the onset of an economic crisis in 1922. In July 1924 a period of unrest culminated in large-scale revolt, especially serious in São Paulo. Most of the army remained loyal to President Artur da Silva Bernardes, who had taken office in 1922, and, after more than six months of fighting, the rebels were defeated. Bernardes ruled by martial law for the remainder of his term. During the administration of his successor, President Washington Luiz Pereira de Souza, the economic crisis deepened, causing numerous strikes and an upsurge of radicalism. Strikes were outlawed by the government in August 1927, and stringent measures against communism were adopted.
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