Joaquim Nabuco
| Joaquim Nabuco | |
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Joaquim Nabuco at age 53, 1902.
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| Born |
August 19, 1849 Recife, Pernambuco, Empire of Brazil |
| Died | January 17, 1910 (aged 60) Washington, D.C., United States of America |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Alma mater | Universidade Federal de Pernambuco |
| Occupation | Diplomat and politician |
| Spouse(s) | Evelina Torres Soares Ribeiro (m. 1889) |
| Children | Maurício Joaquim Carolina Mariana José Tomas |
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Joaquim Aurélio Barreto Nabuco de Araújo (August 19, 1849 – January 17, 1910) was a Brazilian writer, statesman, and a leading voice in the abolitionist movement of his country.
Born in Brazil, Joaquim was the son of a major political figure in the Brazilian Empire, Jose Thomas Nabuco (1813–1878), a lifetime senator, counselor of state, and wealthy landowner. Jose made his move from conservativism to liberalism in the 1860s, establishing the Liberal Party in 1868 and supporting the reforms that would lead to the abolition of slavery in 1888. ("Joaquim Nabuco, Conservative Historian", Richard Graham, Luso-Brazilian Review, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Summer, 1980), pp. 1–16)
Joaquim Nabuco spent most of his time from 1873 to 1878 traveling and living abroad. In his youth, Nabuco had a 14-year relationship with financier and philanthropist Eufrásia Teixeira Leite, who held one of the largest fortunes of the world at the time. Eufrásia and her sister, Francisca Bernardina Teixeira Leite (1845-1899) inherited, after their parents' death, in 1872, a fortune equivalent to 5% of all Brazilian exports. In 1873, the two young ladies had decided to live in Paris. The romance with Nabuco begun during a trip by ship to Europe, in 1873, and would last until 1887, when Eufrásia sent her last letter to Joaquim Nabuco. Two years later, at 38 years old, he got married to Evelina Torres Soares Ribeiro. Eufrásia, however, never got married.
After returning to Brazil in 1878, Nabuco began his public fight against slavery through his political activity and in his writings. He campaigned against slavery in the Chamber of Deputies from 1878, and he founded the Brazilian Anti-Slavery Society. In 1883, he wrote probably the most important work against slavery in the Portuguese language: O Abolicionismo. Although he was largely responsible for the abolition of slavery in 1888, contemporary affirmative action intellectuals believe his reasons for doing so were related to an elitist fear of slavery "Africanizing" Brazil. He is quoted as saying, "Free labor and slave labor cannot coexist, and neither can slavery and immigration". (Citation: Sales Augusto dos Santos, translated by Laurence Hallewell, "Historical Roots of the 'Whitening' of Brazil" in the journal Latin American Perspectives, 2002.) However, it is hard to explain, under this view, why Nabuco would want Africans to become free citizens when slave traffic had already been prohibited.
After the overthrow of the Brazilian monarchy he retired from public life for a period of time.
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