In the years of Brazil's independence, few places in Rio de Janeiro were as busy as the largo do Rossio — today's praça Tiradentes. There, small business owners, professionals, free and enslaved Africans, gypsies, wealthy merchants, government ministers and royalty itself passed through daily — when they weren't residents of the area themselves. The vast space was not only a place of great movement of people and diverse socioeconomic groups and home to buildings important to the city, but also the stage for events that changed the history of the city — and of Brazil.
Figure 1 — Provisional acceptance of the Lisbon constitution, in Rio de Janeiro. Jean-Baptiste Debret, 1839, Fundação Biblioteca Nacional
Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a majestic palace. On the left side, we see a series of columns forming the main building. In the center, there is a large dome with ornamental details. On the right, there is a lower structure, also featuring decorative elements. The background shows a mountain covered with vegetation.The Rossio changed radically in appearance after the arrival of the Portuguese royal family in Brazil. Before that, it was a large open field with stagnant, pestilent waters, where poor populations took shelter. It became known as campo dos Ciganos — precisely for having sheltered dozens of Gypsy families, exiled from Portugal by the king, d. João V, in the mid-18th century.
With the transfer of the court, in 1808, a pillory — an obelisk whose purpose was to be a symbolic space of power, where royal decrees were read out and public sentences were carried out, such as punishments on enslaved people — was installed in Rossio. But the greatest transformation truly came when d. João VI ordered the construction of a grand theater that would match the high standards of the palace elite orbiting the royal family.
With the inauguration of the Real Teatro de São João in 1813, Rossio became the heart of the Rio elite's nightlife, hosting shows and lavish parties. On the day of the acclamation of D. Pedro I as emperor of Brazil — as well as on other key moments that took place in Rio de Janeiro during the Independence process —, the day ended in a gala evening at the Real Teatro. In the Court's game of appearances, these elites sought more to establish and expand networks of sociability and influence than to take in the concerts, readings, plays, and other performances on the São João stage. In that sense, there was no better place to see and be seen in Rio de Janeiro.
Around that time, mansions and grand houses sprang up throughout the neighborhood — ventures backed by wealthy owners. The idea was simple: turn the area into a space occupied by the elites who frequented the Real Teatro, while sweeping away the region's popular character. The goal was partly achieved — the mansions were built and inhabited by counts and viscounts. But the poorer population continued to move through the area. What's more, the new residents caught the attention of thieves. In one of the robberies carried out there, the victim was none other than José Bonifácio. Nicknamed by some "the old man of Rossio," the most influential politician of the Independence years had his house broken into in September 1822.
Figure 2 — Theater Platz [Theater Square]. Thomas Ender c.1817, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna
Image description: This is a painting depicting a square in a city. On the left side, we see a row of houses with red roofs and light-colored walls. As we move to the right, the space opens up, revealing a plaza with people walking and interacting. In the center of the image, there is a vertical structure, possibly a column or monument, standing out against the clear sky. In the background, more houses and buildings appear, forming the city's skyline. In the lower part of the image, we see an area of water, where some figures are sitting or walking nearby.The importance José Bonifácio gained alongside d. Pedro led the prince — and later emperor — to turn to his minister day in and day out, seeking advice to resolve matters of government. Most of the time, it was the monarch who traveled to Rossio — rather than the minister heading to the royal palace, at Quinta da Boa Vista. It is said that, whenever d. Pedro went to the minister's house, passersby in the square would remark that, at Bonifácio's house, one could find his aide-de-camp, the prince.
In February 1821, the Rossio square was the stage of an uprising by troops and the people. The rebels demanded that king João VI take an oath of obedience to the constitutional foundations that would govern the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, which were being drafted at that moment by an assembly gathered in Lisbon. The Porto Revolution crossed the ocean, and soldiers and common people gathered in Rossio square, defending the same constitutionalist ideals that had mobilized the Portuguese revolutionaries the previous year, in 1820. Under pressure, João VI gave in to the rebels' demands, swearing to obey the constitution that had yet to be born. After the episode, Rossio square came to be officially called Constituição square.
Figure 3 — Map of the most loyal and heroic city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro [detail, with Largo do Rossio at the center]. John Edgar Ker, 1852, Fundação Biblioteca Nacional
Image description: The image is an old engraving, possibly of a map or urban plan. The spatial layout begins on the left, where we see streets and buildings arranged in a regular grid. Moving to the right, we notice more densely built-up areas and some open spaces, such as a park or square, marked "Praça de Acclamação." On the right, there is an area that appears to be a hill, with structures surrounding it. The map is in black and white, with some elements highlighted in yellow.Bibliographic References
ENDERS, Armelle. A História do Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro: Gryphus Editora, 2015.
MARSON, Izabel Andrade; OLIVEIRA, Cecília Helena L. de Salles (Orgs.). Monarquia, liberalismo e negócios no Brasil: 1780-1860. São Paulo: Edusp, 2013.
PEDREIRA, Jorge Miguel Viana; COSTA, Fernando Dores. D. João VI: a prince between two continents. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2008.
SHULTZ, Kristen. Tropical Versailles: Empire, Monarchy, and the Portuguese Royal Court in Rio de Janeiro, 1808-1821. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2008.
