Miguel de Frias e Vasconcelos (15 October 1805 - 25 May 1859) was a Brazilian military officer, engineer and politician, best known for having received the
abdication letter from emperor
Pedro I on 7 April 1831.
Biography
Vasconcelos was born on 15 October 1805. His father was lieutenant colonel Joaquim de Frias Vasconcelos. Vasconcelos followed his father's career as a soldier in the 1st Cavalry Regiment at the age of 15. An artillery officer three years later, he joined the Military School. He subsequently advanced in the ranks to the rank of major.
In his military career Vasconcelos took part in the represseion against the
Mercenaries Revolt, in 1828; in the
Ragamuffin War in
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...
from 1842 to 1844, and in the
campaign in Uruguay, under the orders of the
Marquis of Caxias
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
, who requisitioned Vasconcelos to be his chief of staff.
On the night of 6 April 1831, as the commander of the Fortress of São José da Ilha das Cobras, he went to the
Paço de São Cristóvão
Paço de São Cristóvão (; en, Palace of Saint Christopher; also known as Palácio Imperial or Palácio Imperial de São Cristóvão) was an imperial palace located in the Quinta da Boa Vista park in the Imperial Neighbourhood of São Cristó ...
by orders of general
Francisco de Lima e Silva )
, successor2 = Diogo Antônio Feijó
, alongside2 = Costa Carvalho,
, term_start1 = 7 April 1831
, term_end1 = 3 May 1831
, term_start2 = 17 June 1831
, term_end2 = 12 October 1835
, ...
to inform the emperor of the state of agitation in which the people and troops were. The liberals reacted to the appointment of an absolutist ministry by the emperor who, in the face of adverse reaction, decided to form a new body of ministers led by liberal
Nicolau Pereira de Campos Vergueiro
Nicolau Pereira de Campos Vergueiro, better known as Senator Vergueiro ( pt, Senador Vergueiro) (20 December 1778 – 17 September 1859), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian coffee farmer and politician. He was a pioneer in the implementation of free ...
who, however, was not found. At two o'clock in the morning of the following day, the Emperor resigned in favor of his unpubescent son, delivering the Letter of Abdication to Frias e Vasconcelos, saying then, with teary eyes: "Here is my abdication; I wish you to be happy! I retire to Europe and leave a country I loved and still love".
He was a member of several commissions, such as director of the War Arsenal, president of the commission for the improvement of army equipment and director of the public works of the Court, both civil and military.
In Rio de Janeiro, the Capital of the Empire of Brazil, he was responsible for plumbing the waters of the
Maracanã river, responsible for major floods in previous years.
Between 1853 and 1856 he was the President of the
Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro
The Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro is the unicameral legislative body of the city of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same ...
.
He was elected with 4,451 votes, but the elections was annulled and held once more, with Vasconcelos being once again the most voted.
Vasconcelos died on 25 May 1859.
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
* {{Cite book , last=Silva , first=Joaquim , title=História do Brasil , last2=Penna , first2=J. B. Damasco , publisher=Cia. Editora Nacional , year=1967 , location=São Paulo , language=pt
1805 births
1859 deaths