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Rodrigo Augusto da Silva (December 7, 1833 — October 17, 1889), nicknamed "the diplomat", was a politician, diplomat, lawyer, monarchist and journalist of the Empire of Brazil. He is best known as the minister that authored and countersigned with Princess Isabel, then Princess Imperial Regent the law that ended slavery in Brazil. Rodrigo was born in São Paulo into a family of wealthy financiers. His father, the Baron of Tietê, was also a politician and leader of the conservative party in São Paulo.

Rodrigo had a long career in politics, starting in the chamber of deputies when he was 24 years old, he later served as president of the Provincial Assembly of São Paulo, cabinet minister in two conservative governments and senator of the empire. In his first year in parliament he became a defender of policies to increase immigration from Europe, the industrialization of the empire, improvement of the national infrastructure, modernization of the financial system and credit to the agricultural sector.

Birth
Tietê had occupied main political positions in the provincial government and was a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies of the Empire of Brazil.

Education and marriage
Rodrigo attended the Largo de São Francisco Law School where he graduated with a bachelor of laws degree in 1856. After his graduation he worked as a journalist in his brother’s newspaper and a couple of months later moved to Rio de Janeiro to represent São Paulo as a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil. He was only 24 years old at the time and was the substitute of the elected deputy.

(educação e casamento)

Conservative politician
These provinces were facing labor shortages as a result of a fast increase in the coffee trade. In 1871 he was appointed a member of the parliamentary commission that studied the Law of Free Birth proposed by the Viscount of Rio Branco. Rodrigo was among the members of the conservative party that opposed the law. Rodrigo presented a separate report from his fellow commission members. He represented at the time a group that defended immigration before any laws that would abolish slavery, his group feared a serious imbalance in the national order as the country was in the middle of a serious labor shortage.

In 1885 Rodrigo returned to São Paulo and became the president of Provincial Assembly. His presidency received praise from Liberals, Conservatives and Republicans for its progressive stance. In 1886 Rodrigo was called to assume the position of minister in the cabinet of the Baron of Cotejipe. In the same year Rodrigo received from Emperor Dom Pedro II the title of Privy Councillor. After the fall of the Cotejipe Cabinet, Rodrigo was called to be part of the new cabinet formed by Senator João Alfredo. As Minister of External Relations he negotiated a treaty with Argentina regarding the disputed borders of the Misiones territory and accepted the arbitration of the president of the United States; with France he negotiated a treaty to finally mark the borders with French Guiana; with the Kingdom of Italy he negotiated the status of Italian immigrants in the empire. As Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Public Works he negotiated with the Rothschild Bank a loan to finance infrastructure, concluded a national railway plan, reformed the postal service, and authored and countersigned with Princess Isabel the Golden Law. For his contribution in ending slavery Rodrigo was widely praised around the world and together with Princess Isabel, João Alfredo and Ferreira Viana received high honors from Pope Leo XIII.

In 1888, then 54 years old, Rodrigo became a senator for life after being appointed by Dom Pedro II. He barely became an active senator as he became terminally ill.

(seu ínicio no partido conservador, quais posições ocupou, etc...)

Death
After months of suffering Rodrigo died surrounded by his friends, among them writer Machado de Assis. His death caused wide commotion in the empire. Rodrigo’s funeral was watched by members of the government, the abolitionist movement and leaders of the black community. Official mourning was declared and the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and Public works; the Senate; the Chamber of Deputies; and the Postal Service were closed.

The New York Times published the following regarding his death on the 24th of November 1889: We have to record the death of another prominent man in Brazilian politics, that of Counselor Rodrigo Augusto da Silva, which took place at his residence in this city (Rio de Janeiro), at 8:30 P.M. on the 17th inst. He was a prominent and popular member of the Conservative party, a native of Sao Paulo, which province he represented in the Senate, and had twice occupied positions in the Imperial Cabinet. He was Minister of Agriculture in the Joao Alfredo Cabinet which passed the abolition law of 1888, and was still in the prime of life.

Titles

 * Privy Councillor of His Majesty the Emperor.

Other Titles

 * President of the Auxiliary Association for the Progress of the Province of São Paulo.
 * Member of the Irmandade de Nossa Senhora da Consolação (São Paulo), Steward in 1878.

Honors

 * Grand Cross of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great.
 * Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of Christ.
 * Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa.
 * Grand Cross of the French Légion d'honneur.
 * Grand Cross of the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic.

Golden Law
In order to approve the Golden Law Rodrigo Silva had to defend it in the parliament on May 9, 1888. He received heavy attacks from members of his own party. The discussion became emotive and even attacks on the character of the Minister were exposed by other parliamentarians, they pointed that he was once against abolition. Answering to one of these parliamentarians Rodrigo Silva said:“Compared to a question of this magnitude, all individualities are mere demean.” Joaquim Nabuco came to his rescue and added:  “Or ennoble, such is the case of your Excellency” Rodrigo da Silva ended the discussion with these words: I accepted the position of Minister in a very exceptional condition; from it I got all unpleasantness, preoccupations and sacrifices that politics impose. It is enough to me the conviction, that places me above all prejudice and personal interest, to leave me the sweet compensation that, today, as always, I will be well judged by my nation, as an obscure employee that did not cease work for the freedom of a whole nation, and, for a great conquest in favor of liberty in our country. After the speech people screamed: Well Done! Well Done! And applause could be heard from the galleries upstairs.

A total of 83 Parliamentarians voted yes and only the following voted against it: Barao de Aracaji, Bulhoes Carvalho, Castrioto, Pedro Luiz, Bezamat, Alfredo Chaves, Lacerda Werneck, Andrade Figueira and Cunha Leitao. As a result of the Golden Law (Lei Aurea), the Conservative government was divided internally and the opposition (Liberals/Republicans) used the opportunity to try to grab power again. Opposition was so strong that the government and Senator Silva lost political support, and the House of Braganza-Orleans would lose the Crown of Brazil in less than two years after the abolition.

In contrast to the opposition faced in Brazil, senator Silva and Princess Isabel were highly regarded outside Brazil. Senator da Silva was honored by the Vatican, France and Portugal and Isabel received a Gold Rose from the Pope for the courage showed in freeing the slaves. Senator Rodrigo da Silva was awarded the maximum honor of the French nation, the grand cross of the Legion of Honor, the Pope gave him the Grand-cross of first class of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, and Portugal gave him an honor normally reserved to the royal family the Grand-cross of the Royal Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa. On the 31st of May 1889 the State Council meets with the Emperor. State Councilors Lafaiete Rodrigues Pereira and Paulino Jose Soares de Sousa strongly attacked the Joao Alfredo Cabinet and specially the actions of the Ministers of Agriculture Rodrigo Silva and Antonio da Silva Prado.

Senator Soares de Souza attacked senators Rodrigo Silva and Antonio Prado saying:

“''The most profound discontentment reigns in the conservative classes, the most numerous and influent, the plantation owners that the irreversible act of 13th of May of last year left without any reparation of the violated right ... In the centers of agriculture has been growing republican propaganda, gaining victories, such as the last election of deputies sent to Congress by the province of Minas Gerais…''"

(Atas do Conselho de Estado Pleno, 31 May 1889)

Family
Senator Rodrigo was a descendant of Portuguese aristocratic families, among them the Silveira Bettencourt (see Jean de Béthencourt), Cunha Gago (descendant of Fruela II of León) and Silva de Carvalho families. Senator Rodrigo’s family was very influential in Sao Paulo for over a century and members of the family were commanders of the militia and members of the municipal chamber of Santo Amaro. Senator Silva’s grandfather was Jose da Silva de Carvalho, he was nominated captain-major of Santo Amaro by the King of Portugal and latter became a militia commander for a large part of the province of Sao Paulo. He was given the rank of sargento-mor (Portuguese colonial title). The sons of Jose da Silva de Carvalho continued the family tradition and assumed command of the militia, first colonel Jose Manuel da Silva (Baron of Tiete) and latter major Benedito Antonio da Silva.

Senator Silva’s father was given the title of Baron of Tiete by Peter II and was also a commander of the Order of Christ. He was a senior political figure in Sao Paulo until his death on the 18th of March 1877, a member of the Provincial assembly and was previously President and 1st Vice-president of the province of Sao Paulo. The family built a fortune in the transportation of coffee and latter on railways, factories, banks and utility companies. Jose Manuel da Silva and Benedito Antonio da Silva invested heavily in the use of tropas, a form of caravan that used horses and donkeys to transport goods. During the 1860s and 1870’s the family invested with other capitalists such as the Silva Prado family and the Viscount of Maua, in the construction of railway companies in Sao Paulo. Jose Manuel da Silva latter became president of the Bank of Brazil in Sao Paulo. In 1888, Rodrigo’s uncle, major Benedito Antonio da Silva became one of the founding partners in the Docks of Santos Corporation. This company was the largest private investment in Brazil during the Imperial period. In his youth Rodrigo da Silva benefited from his father’s wealth and had the best education available in Sao Paulo. He was fluent in different languages and graduated from Law school in the Largo Sao Francisco in Sao Paulo. During his career in the national capital of Rio de Janeiro the press used to draw his caricature as an elitist not concerned with the people as a result of his aristocratic upbringing.

Rodrigo da Silva married Catharina Mattoso da Camara in Rio de Janeiro on June 1859, daughter of the aristocrat and senator, Eusebio de Queiros. The senator was responsible for the law that forbade the slave trade in the South Atlantic between Africa and Brazil, the law was passed in 1850.

Political career
In 1888 as Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Public works he negotiated with the house of Rothschild in London the sale of Brazilian bonds to finance infrastructure in Brazil. This specific issue was valued at 6 million pounds. In the same year senator Silva and his political allied Antonio da Silva Prado implemented a plan to attract immigrants from Europe to Brazil. Senator Silva and senator Silva Prado were very successful and during their years as Ministers of Agriculture and of Foreign Affairs one of the largest influxes of immigrants in history was established in Brazil (see Italian Brazilians and Portuguese Brazilians). A large Italian colony in the state of Minas Gerais was named in his honor.

As Minister of Foreign affairs Rodrigo Silva negotiated with Argentina the division of the Mission territories, and subsequently accepted the arbitration of the president of the United States. A treaty for the arbitration was signed in Buenos Aires on September 7, 1889. Baron of Rio Branco would later conclude the negotiations between the republican government of Brazil and Argentina. The decision was in favor of Brazil.

Opposition
Ruy Barbosa strongly attacked Rodrigo Silva and published numerous articles in the press against him. Ruy Barbosa was a secret republican in opposition to Rodrigo, a strong supporter of the Emperor and the House of Braganza.

Rodrigo was also criticized by Campos Sales (later president of Brazil) for his strong friendship and protection of Gaston of Orléans, Count d'Eu and Isabel of Brazil. Campos Sales and other republicans believed that the Count d'Eu (French prince and husband of Isabel of Brazil) was trying to become head of state.

Death
The death of senator Rodrigo Silva was a great surprise in Brazil since he was only 55 years old. It was a hard blow for the House of Braganza since they strongly needed people that they could trust in the Senate. He died a month before Republicans implemented a coup and dethroned Peter II. The New York Times published the following regarding his death on the 24th of November 1889: We have to record the death of another prominent man in Brazilian politics, that of Counselor Rodrigo Augusto da Silva, which took place at his residence in this city (Rio de Janeiro), at 8:30 P.M. on the 17th inst. He was a prominent and popular member of the Conservative party, a native of Sao Paulo, which province he represented in the Senate, and had twice occupied positions in the Imperial Cabinet. He was Minister of Agriculture in the Joao Alfredo Cabinet which passed the abolition law of 1888, and was still in the prime of life.

Honors and Public Homage
Senator Silva received the following orders of knighthood:

Grand-cross of the Royal Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa-Portugal

Grand-cross of first class of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great-Vatican

Grand-cross of the French Legion of Honor-France

A district in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais was named in his honor, known as Rodrigo Silva.

A large Italian colony in the state of Minas Gerais was named Senator Rodrigo Silva.

Many streets in Brazil are named after Senator Rodrigo da Silva, especially in his native state of Sao Paulo.

Machado de Assis wrote a chronicle about the abolition of slavery; Senator Rodrigo da Silva is mentioned in the chronicle. He also appears in the writings of Ruy Barbosa, Viscount of Taunay and Humberto de Campos.