Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 4.djvu/278

234 was ravaged by its warlike inhabitants. Tlie regent was now accused of conniving at this rebellion, and the oppo sition of the Chamber of Deputies became so violent as to necessitate his resignation. Araujo Lima, minister of the home department, who strove to give his government the character of a monarchical reaction against the principles of democracy, was chosen by a large majority in his stead. The experiment of republican government had proved so discreditable, and had so wearied the country of cabals, that men hitherto known for their sympathy with demo cratic principles became more monarchical than the regent himself ; and under this influence a movement to give the regency into the hands of the Princess Donna Januaria, now in her 18th year, was set on foot. It was soon per ceived, however, that if the empire could be governed by a princess of eighteen it could be managed better by the emperor himself, who was then fourteen. A bill was accordingly presented to legislature dispensing with the age of the emperor and declaring his majority, which after a noisy discussion was carried. The majority of the Emperor Dom Pedro II. was proclaimed on the 23d July 1 840. Several ministries, in which various parties predominated for a time, now governed the country till 1848, during which period the rebellious province of llio Grande was pacified, more by negotiation than force of arms. In 1848 hostilities were roused with the British Government through the neglect shown by the Brazilians in putting in force a treaty for the abolition of the slave trade, which had been concluded as far back as 1826; on the other hand the governor of Buenos Ayres, General Eosas, was endeavouring to stir up revolution again in Eio Grande. The appearance of yellow fever in 1849, until then unknown in Brazil, was attributed to the importation of slaves. Public opinion declared against the traffic ; severe laws were passed against it, and were so firmly enforced that in 1853 not a single disembarkation took place. The ministry of the Visconde de Olinda in 1849 entered into alliances with the governors of Monte Video, Paraguay, and the states of Entre Eios and Corrieutes, for the purpose of maintaining the integrity of the republics of Uruguay and Paraguay, which Eosas intended to re-unite to Buenos Ayres, and the troops of Eosas which besieged Monte Video were forced to capitulate. Rosas then de clared war formally against Brazil. An army of Correntine, Uruguayan, and Brazilian troops, under General Urquiza, assisted by a Brazilian naval squadron, advanced on Buenos Ayres, completely routed the forces of Eosas, and crushed for ever the power of that dictator. From 1844 Brazil was free from intestine commotions, and had resumed its activity. Public works and education were advanced, and the finances rose to a degree of prosperity previously unknown. In 1855 the emperor of Brazil sent a squadron of eleven men-of-war and as many transports up the Parana to adjust several questions pending between the empire and the Eepublic of Paraguay, the most important of which was that of the right of way by the Paraguay Eiver to the interior Brazilian province of Matto Grosso. This right had been in dispute for several years. The expedition was not permitted to ascend the Eiver Paraguay, and returned completely foiled in its main purpose. Though the discord resulting between the states on account of this failure was subsequently allayed for a time by a treaty granting to Brazil the right to navigate the river, every obstacle was thrown in the way by the Paraguayan Government, and indignities of all kinds were offered not only to Brazil but to the representatives of the Argentine and the United States. In 1864 the ambitious dictator of Paraguay, Francisco Solano Lopez, without previous declaration of war, captured a Brazilian vessel in the Paraguay, and rapidly followed up this outrage by an armed invasion of the provinces of Matto Grosso and Eio Grande in Brazil, and that of Corrieutes in the Argentine Eepublic. A triple alliance of the invaded states with Uruguay ensued, and the tide of war was soon turned from being an offensive one on the part of Paraguay to a defensive struggle within that republic against the superior number of the allies. (So strong was the natural position of Paraguay, however, and so complete the subjection of its inhabitants to the will of the dictator, that it was not until the year 1870, after the republic had been completely drained of its manhood and resources, that the long war was terminated by the capture and death of Lopez with his last handful of men by the pursuing Brazilians. From its duration and frequent battles and sieges this war involved an immense sacrifice of life to Brazil, the army in the field having been con stantly maintained at between 20,000 and 30,000 men, and the expenditure in maintaining it was very great, having been calculated at upwards of fifty millions sterling. Large deficits in the financial budgets of the state resulted, involving increased taxation and the contracting of loans from foreign countries. Notwithstanding this the sources of public wealth in Brazil were unaffected, and commerce continued steadily to increase. A grand social reform was effected in the law passed in September 1871, which enacted that from that date every child born of slave parents should be free, and also declared all the slaves belonging to the state or to the im perial household free from that time. The same law provided an emancipation fund, to be annually applied to the ransom of a certain number of slaves owned by private individuals. Since that time the emancipation of slaves has gone on rapidly, the work having been promoted largely by the slave owners and by private philanthropy. It is estimated that since the cessation of the importing of slaves in 1853, and especially after the enactment of 1871, not less than a million of slaves have obtained their freedom ; and the total extinction of slavery within the empire is not far distant. From the extremely rapid pro gress of. this movement difficulties have been experienced in a considerable degree in procuring a sufficient supply of labour for the Brazilian plantations, but the general effect of the law has been to give new directions to the employ ment of capital, and the construction of railroads and telegraphs, and the improvement of internal communication by roads and rivers have been largely promoted. Attention has also been strongly directed towards the further develop ment of the provinces by the increase of European immi gration. Enterprises of all kinds have multiplied, and public instruction has received a vigorous impulse. The Emperor Dom Pedro II. and the empress, a sister of the king of Naples, are universally beloved and respected for their intellectual and moral endowments, and their affectionate interest in the welfare of their subjects. Princess Isabel, born in July 1846, and her son born in October 1875, are their only surviving offspring.

Until after the year 1872, when a complete census of the empire was begun, every estimate of the population of Brazil was based upon the official returns of 1817-18, and these have consequently been mere approximations, varying very considerably in the hands of different authors. In the first census referred to the whole number of people was 4,396,000, including an estimated number of 800,000 Indians; in 1850 the total was reckoned roundly at 7,000,000 ; and in 1860 at 8,000,000. In the following table the results of the census of 1872 have been incorporated, as far as these have yet been published, the remaining figures being made up from the estimates formerly given for each of the provinces. The 