Exaltados

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Exaltados

Exaltados, advocates of republicanism, federalism, and political egalitarianism in an important political movement in Brazil during the late 1820s and the 1830s. Inspired by the Jacobin ideas of the French Revolution, the exaltados ("enthusiasts") were strongly anti-Portuguese and generally xenophobic. Their program and the use of the popular press, open public meetings, and street action—all innovations in Brazilian politics—generated strong support from urban elements, including artisans and shopkeepers, many of them mulattoes and all having socioeconomic grievances. Various developments, including the death of Pedro I, the introduction of federalism in 1834, and increasing fears of social anarchy, deprived the exaltados of their political viability.

See alsoFederalism .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jancsó, István. Brasil: Formação do estado e da nação. São Paulo: Editora Hucitec, 2003.

Needell, Jeffrey D. The Party of Order: The Conservatives, the State, and Slavery in the Brazilian Monarchy, 1831–1871. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006.

                                        Roderick Barman