Today is the holiday called after The Day of The Proclamation of The Republic on 15th November 1889, when Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca reluctantly fell in with a plot by republicans to depose Brazil's last Emperor, Dom Pedro II. The Emperor's Own 1st and 9th Cavalry regiments seized control of the buildings housing the government and a bloodless coup and the proclamation were made. This must have seemed a cruel reward for the making of the Golden Law, abolishing slavery, on 13th May 1888, and for lengthy periods, Brazil struggled under dictatorships, before it emerged into the age of democracy and its current prosperity.
I won't bring my voice to cry out 'Long Live The Republic' but I will definitely shout 'Floreat Brasilia!' And I shall enjoy the fireworks!
The picture is of Dom Pedro II.
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