In 1792, Tiradentes was hanged in the campo de São Domingo — a square that today bears the sentenced man's name — in a spectacle meant to serve as an example to those who dared question the authority of the Portuguese Crown. Two years later, however, the viceroy of Brazil, José Luís de Castro, Count of Resende, was scandalized by reports of secret meetings, in which colonists were debating the very same ideas that had sent the Minas Gerais conspirator to the gallows.
Portrait of José Luís de Castro, Count of Resende, viceroy of Brazil between 1790 and 1801. Author unknown. c.1800 – c.1819. Wikimedia Commons
Image description: This is a painting depicting a man wearing formal 18th-century attire. The figure is centered in the image, facing forward. The background is black, highlighting the subject. The individual has gray hair, styled simply, and wears a red vest with golden details. Over the vest, there are distinguished emblems and medals, including a large red badge with a golden symbol at its center. The neck is covered by a white collar with fine embroidery.The viceroy had reasons to be terrified. Enlightenment authors, such as Voltaire — or Vulter, in his Brazilianized version —, and periodicals that reported on and extolled the course of the French Revolution were forbidden from circulating among the colonists. They eroded the legitimacy of the government. In the view of the colonial administration, these "seditious and incendiary writings" planted "the seed of insurrection among the subjects of their respective sovereigns." And to the Crown's despair, the "hateful Frenchisms" sometimes escaped Portuguese censorship and went on to stir the political imagination of the colonists.
Um grupo de letrados, em especial, passou a se reunir para discutir aqueles ideais revolucionários — this group, in particular, began meeting to discuss those revolutionary ideals. The meetings took place weekly, at the house of the poet Manuel Inácio da Silva Alvarenga, on Rua do Cano, today's Rua Sete de Setembro. That was where the Sociedade Literária do Rio de Janeiro operated — an association initially with academic and scientific purposes, but which, in 1794, had turned into a space where the common good, equality, republic, and democracy were debated. Most of its members were doctors and apothecaries. The meetings were secret, but the ideas spread, taking on new directions as soon as night turned into day.
Interior of a Pharmacy (Botica) in Rio de Janeiro. In detail: customers wait for the medicine to be prepared; meanwhile, they gather news and catch up on what was happening in the rest of the world. Jean Baptiste Debret - 1823. Wikimedia Commons
Image description: This is a color painting depicting the interior of an apothecary shop in Rio de Janeiro, dated 1823, according to the caption provided. The image shows three men behind a wooden counter with decorative patterns, looking at shelves filled with glass and ceramic containers. On the right, a man is standing, holding a container and appearing to be in conversation with the other two. The shelves in the background are packed with various objects, including bottles and jars of different sizes and shapes. The setting is lit by arched windows, allowing light to enter and illuminate the space.On Rua do Cano, the city's main apothecaries operated. There, the population of Rio de Janeiro would order their medicines, ointments, and the like. These establishments were conducive to the spread of those subversive conversations: it was enough for the customer to prick up their ears, listen to what the doctors and apothecaries were saying, and mull over the content of that dialogue themselves — that is, when they didn't chime in on the gossip. From the apothecary counters to public spaces such as Mestre Valentim's fountain, in what is now Praça Quinze de Novembro, ideas spread through the air at the speed of sound.
One of the busiest spots in Rio de Janeiro, Mestre Valentim's fountain, on Largo do Carmo, through which the ideas of "Vulter" and other Enlightenment authors flowed. Leandro Joaquim - 1790. Museu Histórico Nacional Collection.
Image description: This is an oval-shaped painting depicting a historic square. On the left side, we see a long building with many windows, while on the right there is another similar building. In the center, there is a central structure with a tower and a cross on the roof. The square is occupied by crowds of people arranged in rows, some in military uniforms. In front, there is a raised platform with a statue or monument. In the foreground, we see some smaller figures, including people in boats and other individuals walking. The sky is blue with a few clouds.Upon being informed of the existence of these gatherings, the Count of Resende decided to root out the evil at its source. He banned the activities of the Sociedade Literária and had eleven of its members imprisoned in the fortress on Morro da Conceição. The so-called Conjuração do Rio de Janeiro did not amount to a plan to overthrow colonial power. But the viceroy of Brazil, fearing the greater evil, kept the suspected intellectuals locked up for two years, without formal charges.
