ABSTRACT
Brazil’s history took a different path from that of Hispanic America, particularly in the nineteenth century. The Napoleonic invasion of Iberia in 1807–08 forced the Portuguese monarchy, the Braganzas, to flee to Rio de Janeiro, where they established the continuation of the Portuguese monarchy. Given the enormity of the Brazilian landmass, this proved to be an important legacy, or characteristic, of the “Brazilian way.” The second half of the nineteenth century in Brazil has been characterized using three terms: slavery, coffee, and monarchy. Brazil holds the dubious distinction of being the last country in the Western Hemisphere to eliminate slavery, in 1888. Brazilians adopted a more pragmatic approach to ending slavery. The end of slavery meant a dramatic increase in the number of Europeans willing to migrate to Brazil; they would work in the expanding and profitable coffee economy based in the southeastern region of the country, surrounding the city of São Paulo and the port of Santos.
