With the proclamation of independence by the Portuguese prince Pedro de Bragança, the American portion of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves became an independent Empire. The historical period of the Brazilian Empire, which existed until 1889, is this international conference’s focus. Between 1822 and 1889, Brazil became the largest slave state in the world, at a time when both the transatlantic slave trade and slavery itself had been almost universally abolished. Brazilian slavers operated illegally between the coasts of Africa and Brazil, pursued by British squads and the courts of the Joint Commissions on both sides of the Atlantic. At the same time, Brazil was attracting hundreds of thousands of European immigrants to fuel the expansion and consolidation of the territory. Over the decades, this process was characterized by conflict and bloodshed, particularly among Brazil's indigenous population.
Despite all the difficulties, the cornerstone of modern Brazil was laid in the Brazilian Empire, which from 1889, already as a Republic, saw itself as a positivist state, under the motto "Order and Progress". One of the consequences of this sequence of events was the construction of the Brasilidade concept at the beginning of the First Republic.
We invite all interested parties to submit conference proposals on the following general topics:
- The path of Brazil's Independence: from the Inconfidência Mineira to the Ipiranga Shout (1789-1822)
- The many Independences of Brazil
- The first reign in the context of Latin American independences (1822-1831)
- Rebellions and revolutions in Brazil during the state-building process (1830-1850)
- Brazil: the state of slavers and slaves (1822-1889)
- Drafting the frontier: European immigration to boost Brazilian expansion (1822-1930)
- The end of the empire and slavery in the context of the establishment of the positivist state (1880-1930)
- Builders of Brazil: Figures and institutions
Proposals (up to 350 words), accompanied by a brief CV (up to 200 words), should be sent by 12 September to congresso.brasil200anos@gmail.com