O The Military and the elaboration of an alternative modernization project for Brazil (1854-1855)

Abstract

In the 1850s, the Court of Rio de Janeiro lived days of optimism. After years of battles, the conservative project was consolidated , ending the provincial revolts. In this context, the newspaper The Military is edited, performing on its pages a very consistent and critical debate on the new order. The historiography traditionally locates in these debates the origin of interventionist formulations that would mark the twentieth century in Brazil. The purpose of this article, however, is to insert these debates in the field of political references of their time. I believe that the articles of The Military expressed the discontent of certain sectors of the Army with the government, which would have led them to review the conservative project. These sectors advocated a modernization founded on a system that should be based on meritocracy and discipline, with the Army as the legitimate guide of the Brazilian civilizing process.