Have You Heard of Isabela, Princess Imperial of Brazil?

[Moonglow]

They still do the donkey shows in Mexico and Cuba..

And of course you NEVER miss a show when you have the chance, right?

Oh I'm into Japanese fetish vomit porn now..I've moved on....

 

[JimBowie1958]

Oh I'm into Japanese fetish vomit porn now..I've moved on....

I thought the Japanese did scat, not vomit porn.

Oh well, the Nipponese are very strange in general.

 

[Moonglow]

Oh I'm into Japanese fetish vomit porn now..I've moved on....

I thought the Japanese did scat, not vomit porn.

Oh well, the Nipponese are very strange in general.

Yeah, for some reason...their biggest problem is VD of the throat...

 

[JimBowie1958]

Yeah, for some reason...their biggest problem is VD of the throat...

I would have guessed Chlamydia of the Sinuses.

 

[whitehall]

The U.S. emancipated slaves in 1865. What took Brazil so long (1888)? Every slave in the U.S. was immediately freed but you can bet that a piece of paper didn't mean much back then in Brazil and slavery probably persisted until the turn of the century. It should be noted that democracy didn't come along with emancipation.

 

[JimBowie1958]

The U.S. emancipated slaves in 1865. What took Brazil so long (1888)? Every slave in the U.S. was immediately freed but you can bet that a piece of paper didn't mean much back then in Brazil and slavery probably persisted until the turn of the century. It should be noted that democracy didn't come along with emancipation.

IT is estimated by the Brazilian government that as many as 50,000 people are working under forced labor conditions that could be described as slavery TODAY.

Slavery was never truly abolished in Brazil, but Isabella did her best to do so.

 

[Syriusly]

She seems like an amazing woman in one key respect; she gave up her throne for the emancipation of slaves in Brazil on one of the occasions she ruled as Regent while her father Pedro II was out of the country.

From Wikipedia:
Dona Isabel (English: Isabella;[a] 29 July 1846 – 14 November 1921), nicknamed "the Redemptress",[1] was the heiress presumptive to the throne of the Empire of Brazil, bearing the title ofPrincess Imperial. She also served as the Empire's regent on three occasions.

Isabel was born in Rio de Janeiro, the eldest daughter of Emperor Pedro II and Empress Teresa Cristina, and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza (Portuguese:Bragança). After the deaths of her two brothers in infancy, she was recognized as her father's heiress presumptive. She married a French prince, Gaston, Count of Eu, in an arranged marriage and they had three sons.

During her father's absences abroad, Isabel acted as regent. In her third and final regency, she actively promoted and ultimately signed a law, named Lei Áurea or the Golden Law (1888), emancipating all slaves in Brazil. Even though the action was broadly popular, there was strong opposition to her succession to the throne. Her gender, strong Catholic faith and marriage to a foreigner were seen as impediments against her, and the emancipation of the slaves generated dislike among powerful planters. In 1889, her family was deposed in a military coup, and she spent the last 30 years of her life in exile in France...

Historian Roderick J. Barman wrote that "in the view of posterity, [Isabel] acted decisively only once on a single issue: the immediate abolition of slavery".[138] It is for this achievement that she is remembered. As explained by Barman, paradoxically this "principal exercise of power by which posterity alone remembers her ... contributed to her exclusion from public life". Isabel herself wrote, on the day after the republican coup d'état that deposed her father, "If abolition is the cause for this, I don't regret it; I consider it worth losing the throne for."[

How often do-gooders promote reforms or restructuring for society in one aspect or another that cost them power and wealth? Though I have no iron-clad stats, I have no doubt that it is very rare.

I have to read more about this incredible woman who sacrificed her ascension to the throne to liberate the slaves of her nation. Such commitment to the betterment of mankind at great personal cost is indeed heartening.

If anyone can recommend any good books/biographies of this woman, I would be very appreciative.

Interesting piece of history- thanks

 

[Syriusly]

The U.S. emancipated slaves in 1865. What took Brazil so long (1888)? Every slave in the U.S. was immediately freed but you can bet that a piece of paper didn't mean much back then in Brazil and slavery probably persisted until the turn of the century. It should be noted that democracy didn't come along with emancipation.

Why was every slave in the United States freed by 1865?

Because the majority of American Slave states- aka the Confederacy- rebelled to protect their slave rights- and as part of the war, the Emancipation Declaration was declared- which resulted in the ultimate freedom of most American slaves. Thanks Abraham Lincoln! The rest were freed through the 13th Amendment- which again was dependent on the defeat of the majority of American slave states.

Of course we took our time.
Great Britain abolished slavery in Great Britain in 1772
Mexico in 1829
Venezuela in 1854.

Matter of fact every nation in the Western Hemisphere other than Cuba, and Brazil and the other Portuguese colonies abolished slavery before we did.

But I am glad we did abolish slavery and I see no reason to complain that we- or Brazil took too long.