Question of fangs

Abstract

"INDEPENDENCE OR DEATH"! These words, so well known to Brazilians, barely constituted the epitaph of a hopeful nation. Delivered by an impetuous 23-year-old Prince Regent on a gallant trip (the bad languages say) to the city of São Paulo, they had a conflicting resonance at the time. They echoed in the South and Southeast provinces, notably in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and São Paulo. In the north of the country, Pará and Maranhão olympically ignored them, remaining faithful to the Lisbon Courts. In the Northeast the situation was indecisive. Piauí and Alagoas obeying Portugal; Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará, in confusion. The Province of Pernambuco, after some hesitations, defining itself by the Cause of Independence.