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An Early Diplomatic Controversy between the United States and Brazil
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 May 2017
Extract
It was two years after the United States formally declared for the recognition of the new Latin-American states and after several Spanish-American states had been recognized before the question of recognizing Brazil arose. When, in April, 1824, Rebello presented himself in Washington as the Brazilian chargé, a difference of opinion arose in Monroe’s cabinet, because Brazil was a monarchy, while all of the other American governments were republics, and some hoped that monarchy might have no foothold on the continent. Others, however, advocated the recognition of Brazil the more strongly because it was a monarchy in order to show the world that it was the fact of independence which actuated the United States rather than the form of government.
The opposition to recognition was strengthened by recent news of a formidable separatist movement in the north, with Pernambuco as a center, the purpose of which was to establish an independent republic under the name of the Federation of the Equator. This; raised a serious doubt whether the government at Rio de Janeiro were really in effective control. It was reported, too, that the assistance of French naval vessels had been accepted in order to repress the Pernambuco revolt. This conjured up the specter of the so-called Holy Alliance, for the exclusion of which from America Monroe’s famous message of the preceding December had declared. There was also a strong suspicion, supported by persistent rumors, that Dom Pedro (who had allowed himself to be made Emperor when in 1822 Brazilian independence from Portugal was declared, who had summoned a constituent assembly and then quarreled with it and finally forcibly dismissed it because it proved too liberal to suit his ideas of prerogative, and who had appointed a council that had drawn up a fairly liberal constitution in harmony with his wishes which he had not yet taken the oath to observe) really wished to restore Portuguese sovereignty and rule Brazil as a vassal of his father, the King of Portugal. About the middle of May, however, word came that in the preceding March the Emperor had taken the oath to the constitution of the independent Brazilian Empire. After Rebello had given assurances concerning the suppression of the slave trade and the observance of treaties that had been negotiated with Portugal, he was formally received by President Monroe as Brazilian chargé on May 26, 1824. He expressed his gratitude that “the Government of the United States has been the first to acknowledge the independence of Brazil.”
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References
1 Adams, C. P., Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, VI, 280, 281, 283, 285, 308, 311, 314, 317, 328, 354, 358.
2 Ibid., 358, 475.
3 Robertson, W. S., South America and the Monroe Doctrine, Political Science Quarterly, XXX, 82–105 Google Scholar; Manning, William R., Statements, Interpretations, and Applications of the Monroe Doctrine, etc., 1823–1845, Proceedings of the American Society of International Law, 1914, 35.
4 Adams, C. F., Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, VI, 475, 520, 530.
5 Manifesto de la Cour de Rio de Janeiro, . . . 10 décembre, 1825, British and Foreign State Papers, XIII, 776–783.
6 Ibid., 748–766.
7 Manifeste de la Cour de Rio de Janeiro, . . . 10 décembre, 1825, British and Foreign State Papers, XIII, 767–785.
8 For the British notification, see ibid., 785. For the notification to Raguet, see S. Amaro to Raguet, December 6, and same to same, December 7, 1825, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1025; or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 14, 15.
9 Raguet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, December 13, 1825, ibid., 9; or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 278, or 1023.
10 Forbes to Admiral Lobo, February 13, 1826, ibid., 281; or British and Foreign State Papers, XIII, 822.
11 Elliott to Raguet, March 14, 1826, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 277; Elliott to Secretary of the Navy, March 18, 1826, ibid.; Elliott to Bond, April 1, 1826, ibid., 288; Elliott to Admiral Lobo, April 3, 1826, ibid., 284; or British and Foreign State Papers, XIII, 824; Lobo to Elliott, April 6, 1826, ibid., 827, or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 285; and many other letters in subsequent pages of one or both works.
12 Elliott to Secretary of Navy, May 5, 1826, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 283; . Raguet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, November 14, 1826, ibid., 1047, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 65; Minister of Marine to Admiral Da Prata, November 29, 1826, ibid., 74, or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1051; Raguet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, November 30, 1826, ibid., 1048, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 67; and many other documents in subsequent pages of both publications.
13 Raguet to Clay, June 27, 1826, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1028, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 21.
14 Raguet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, June 20, 1826, American State Papers, Foreign Affairs, VI, 1029, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 23; Minister of Foreign Affairs to Raguet, June 28, 1826, ibid., 23, or American State Papers, Foreign Affairs, VI, 1029. And see also the following documents in the subsequent pages of one or both publications: Hoffmann to Biddle, August 26, 1826; Raguet to Clay, October 2 and October 31, 1826; Biddle to Admiral Pinto Guedes [Da Prata], January 3, 1827; deposition of Jesse Powell before Consul Bond, January 13, 1827; Biddle to Pinto Guedes, January 14, 1827; Da Prata [Pinto Guedes] to Biddle, January 14, 1827; Biddle to Pinto Guedes, January 22, 1827; Da Prata to Biddle, January 23, 1827; and many others.
15 Order of Da Prata, January 25, 1827, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1081, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 141; Da Prata to Biddle, January 27, 1827, ibid., 140, or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1081.
16 Clay to Raguet, October 22, 1826, ibid., 1051, or House Ex. Doo. No. 281; 20th Cong., 1st sess., 74.
17 Raguet to Clay, September 23, 1826, ibid., 30; or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1032.
18 Adams’s annual message to Congress, December 5, 1826, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 212.
19 See numerous documents in American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 289–293 and 1026–1078, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st seas., 18–137.
20 Minister of Foreign Affairs to Raguet, October 31, 1826, ibid., 63, or American State Papers, Foreign Affairs, VI, 1046.
21 Raguet to Clay, October 31, 1826, ibid., 1042, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 53.
22 Ibid., 138 and subsequent pages, or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, 291 and 1080, and pages following each.
23 Raguet to Clay, April 12, 1826, House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 20, or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1027. It is interesting to notice that the second admiral appears under four or five different names in the documents. Sometimes he is mentioned as Admiral Pinto; other times, as Admiral Guedes. In the present paper, as has been seen in earlier footnotes, both names are used, and, where confusion is likely, the abbreviated title. He always signed by his title in Portuguese — Baron do Rio da Prata — and the translations of his letters are copied without translating. But the copies of letters addressed to him have the title partly translated into English and partly into Spanish and partly elided, — Baron of the La Plata. (Strange to say, neither of the two possible all-English forms have been encountered — Baron of the River Plate, or Baron of the River of Silver.)
24 Raguet to Clay, May 25, 1826, ibid., 1028, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 21; Biddle to Pinto Guedes [Da Prata] April 19, 1827, ibid., 154, or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1087, and same to same, April 22, 1827, pages 158 and 1089 of the volumes cited, respectively; Da Prata [Pinto Guedes] to Biddle, April 23, 1827, pages 160 and 1089 of the volumes cited.
25 Biddle to Pinto Guedes [Da Prata], December 13, 1827, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1105, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 194.
26 Da Prata to Biddle, December 14, 1827, ibid., 196, or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1105.
27 Biddle to Pinto Guedes [Da Prata], January 25, 1828, ibid., 1111, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 209.
28 Minister of Foreign Affairs to Raguet, January 18, 1827, and two other letters from same to same on same day, Biddle to Secretary of the Navy, January 24, 1827, and Raguet to Clay, February 7, 1827, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1054, 1057, 1058, 1074, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 80, 88, 90, 126.
29 Raguet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, March 5, 7, and 8, 1827; Minister of Foreign Affairs to Raguet, March 7, 9, and 10, 1827; Raguet to Clay, March 12 and 17, 1827; American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1061–1066; or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 96–108.
30 Clay to Raguet, January 20, 1827, ibid., 108, or American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1066.
31 Adams, C. F., Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, VII, 270, 272.
32 Adams, C. F., Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, VII, 276, VIII, 224; Rebello to Clay, May 30 and June 1, 1827; Clay to Rebello, May 31 and June 2, 1827; American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 823–825, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 6–8.
33 See numerous documents which passed between the United States naval commanders and the Brazilian admiral, and between the United States consul at Rio de Janeiro and the ministers, in American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1071–1121, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 118–232.
34 Adams, C. F., Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, VII, 354–357.
35 Adams, C. F., Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, VII, 288, 289. Raguet to Clay, May 31, 1827, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 1068, or House Ex. Doc. No. 281, 20th Cong., 1st sess., 112.
36 Adams’s annual message, December 4, 1827, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, VI, 627.
37 Adams, C. F., Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, VII, 401.
After Raguet’s departure from Brazil, a statement was published in a paper of Rio de Janeiro charging that he had been bribed by agents of Buenos Aires to break off the relations between the United States and Brazil. In a communication to the House of Representatives of February 15, 1828, Raguet declared this to be an unfounded libel, and asked for an investigation. On March 25 the Committee on Foreign Affairs reported that, while they sympathized with Mr. Raguet’s feeling of indignation, they thought an unavowed newspaper attack on a foreign agent not sufficient ground for the House to take action. They considered the statement of the President to Congress at the opening of the session sufficient vindication. American State Papers. Foreign Relations, VI, 864, 865.