From Cipriano Barata to Teófilo Ottoni: political languages and republican lexicon in the Brazilian press in the First Reign

Abstract

In the fi rst decade of the Brazilian monarchy the government of Pedro I experienced strong opposition from sectors that refuted the monarchical option as a political regime for Brazil. This opposition used the press as a vehicle for the propagation of liberal and republican ideas. This was the case of texts published in newspapers such as the Sentinela da Liberdade, edited by Cipriano Barata (1772-1838) and the Sentinela do Serro, edited by Teófi lo Ottoni (1807-1869). In analyzing these texts from the reference points of History of Concepts, we will try to identify in the material published between independence and the fi rst years of the Regency the concepts and political narratives that derive from the republican lexicon in order to better understand the complex political scenario that characterized the country in the initial years of national state formation.