7 de Abril: usos políticos e representações na Regência (1831 - 1840)

Abstract

The following research project looks to understand the abdication of D. Pedro I and the way in which it was perceived and used throughout the Regency, 1831 – 1840. To achieve this, we used some of the main periodicals which circulated within in Rio de Janeiro’ Court; Aurora Fluminense, O Seted’Abril, O Caramuru, O VerdadeiroCaramuruand O Exaltado. We discovered that the 7th of April marked the beginning of a new era in which political power was no longer concentrated with the Emperor, allowing for the insurgence of a certain cultural environment which guaranteed greater freedom for the manifestation of other political positions. In this way, moderados, exaltados, and caramurus demonstrated their political representations of the 7th of April in order to legitimize their power and to guarantee greater participation, or note their opposition to the government of that time. As such, we seek to show that the 7th of April Movement was not intended for all groups in the same way, rather, that it could have been used for various political agendas and that different political representations could have been mobilized according to how it was interpreted and whose interests it may have served.