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Brazilian nationalism is thenationalism ofBrazilian people andBrazilian culture. It became strong during the declaration ofIndependence of Brazil, in the 19th century.
Brazil was initially acolony ofPortugal, established during thePortuguese colonization of the Americas. Historians are not sure on the precise moment when Brazilians developed a local nationalism, distinct from the Portuguese one. In some cases it is pointed to the discovery itself, in others it is attributed to the explorations of thebandeirantes or the South American theater of theDutch–Portuguese War in the 17th century.[1]
Still, the first cases of a strong nationalist sentiment emerged in the 19th century. The white Brazilian-born colonial oligarchy developed sentiments against the colonial system, and manifested hostility to the Portuguese authorities. There were local conspiracies to secede from Portugal as early as in 1789, but theIndependence of Brazil took place in the 1820s, after thetransfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil during theNapoleonic Wars. Brazilians had a desire for self-governance and resented that the wealth of the nation was taken to Portugal.[2]
After independence, Brazilian nationalism maintained its anti-Portuguese sentiment. TheLusophobia present within the Empire was a key factor in the events that led to the abdication ofDom Pedro I. The monarch reportedly said that the Brazilian people rejected him because he was Portuguese, and proclaimed: "My son has an advantage over me: he is Brazilian and the Brazilians favour him".[3] The sentiment also expanded to beanti-British and anti-Spanish American sentiments (specially against the countries of theRío de la Plata Basin, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), shaping an anti-foreign nationalism.[2] The anti-Portuguese sentiment was in fact a common sentiment across all of Brazil, and helped to keep the country unified during the late colonial periods and the first chaotic years after independence. The Brazilian monarchy was also a unifying factor, as the majority of the elite accepted the authority of the kings and feared the consequences of a potential revolt of their slaves.[4] The elite envisioned a country of white peoples, but the slaves, mulattoes, and mestizos composed almost the two-thirds of the Brazilian population.[5] For this end, they encouraged European and Japanese immigration, to increase the number of white people.[6]
The anti-Portuguese sentiment also led to an increased use of theFrench language, to the detriment of thePortuguese language. France was seen at the time as a model of civilization and progress.[7] Brazilian literary nationalism began in the 1840s with the works ofJosé de Alencar, who used French literary models to describe the regions and social milieus of Brazil.[8] Nationalist literary works became more complex in the second half of the 19th century.[9]
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