ABSTRACT
Rio de Janeiro as an alternative to an impious and decadent Europe, a site in which morality, civility, and the monarchy’s prestige could be restored. As exiles, residents, and royal officials then recognized, sustaining this vision of New World renewal re quired corresponding reforms. The greatness of an American monarchy would have to begin with the greatness of its new capital. Rio de Janeiro’s transformation into a royal court began just two months before the prince regent’s arrival when news of the royal exile, as “pleasurable” as it was “shocking,” was received.1 Although resi dents, the city’s memorialists insisted, viewed the prospect of serving as the new royal residence with happiness and pride, accommodating the prince regent, the royal family, and the other exiles was nevertheless a daunting task that required large-scale mobilization and extraordinary expenditures. Preparations were immediately com menced. To provide adequate quarters for the prince regent, the viceregal palace was enlarged by annexing the adjacent jail and a garage for carriages was created. The palace exterior was painted and the interior walls were lined with silk.2 The city’s churches were cleaned and their altars were polished, and a canopy of the finest cloth was erected near the docks.3 Further repairs and arrangements for a formal reception were authorized by the city’s town council. As a result, one resident wrote of viewing the city’s elite receive the prince regent and his retinue amid luxurious decorations and festive illumination, Rio de Janeiro became “a New City.”4
