Republic of the Sword

The Republic of the Sword (Portuguese: República da Espada, Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁeˈpublikɐ da esˈpa.dɐ]) was the early period of the First Brazilian Republic, when it was ruled by Marshals Deodoro da Fonseca and Floriano Peixoto. It began in 1889 when Deodoro da Fonseca launched a military coup against the Empire of Brazil, leading to the Proclamation of the Republic. The first two years of the republic were dictatorial under Fonseca, until a new constitution was promulgated in 1891, and he was elected president. Fonseca was not able to adjust to sharing power with Congress and dissolved it on 3 November 1891. The act was widely perceived as an authoritarian attempt to concentrate power, triggering a severe political crisis and alienating civilian and military supporters, including then Vice President Floriano Peixoto and influential Navy officers. Faced with mounting opposition, threats of civil war, and the defection of military units, Fonseca was forced to resign on 23 November 1891 leading to Peixoto's rise to power.

The Republic of the Sword was also marked by an economic crisis called the Encilhamento. Spearheaded by Finance Minister Ruy Barbosa, the government implemented expansionist monetary policies aimed at stimulating industrial growth, which led to unbridled speculation, inflation, and widespread economic instability. Investor confidence collapsed and the government's efforts to stabilize the currency failed. The crisis undermined the credibility of the new regime, contributed to social unrest, and constrained the Fonseca and Peixoto administrations, which also had to deal with political revolts and popular dissatisfaction with rising prices.

Floriano Peixoto assumed the presidency amidst severe political instability and claims that his succession violated the constitutional requirement for new elections, as Deodoro da Fonseca had resigned less than halfway through his term. Known as the "Iron Marshal", Peixoto adopted an authoritarian stance to consolidate power and suppress the opposition. His government faced multiple revolts, most notably the Federalist Revolution and the Second Naval Revolt in 1893. Led by monarchist remnants and disgruntled officers demanding new elections, the revolt saw significant portions of the Brazilian Navy rise against the government, threatening the capital from Guanabara Bay. Lacking a comparable fleet, Peixoto refused to step down and relied on hastily armed merchant vessels and support from state militias to resist the rebels, maintaining control through emergency powers. His presidency also saw increasing political radicalization, especially among urban middle-class republicans known as the Jacobins. Fiercely loyal to the new republic, the Jacobins supported strong central authority, secularism, and the exclusion of monarchists and oligarchs from power, viewing Peixoto as a national savior and demanding harsh measures against his opponents. The movement gained influence in Rio de Janeiro, where its members violently acted against perceived enemies of the Republic, which alarmed the elites and widened the ideological divide within the republican regime.

Despite repression, Peixoto's presidency laid the groundwork for stabilizing the nascent republic. He left office in 1894 and was succeeded by Prudente de Morais, Brazil's first civilian president, who inherited an exhausted nation after thousands of deaths, marking the end of the so-called "Republic of the Sword". Tensions between civilians and the military remained high, and the new government faced the challenge of consolidating the legitimacy of civilian governance and the Encilhamento's aftermath. The transition shifted Brazil toward a more civilian-led, though oligarchic, political order characterized by regional power blocs and rural elites, especially from Minas Gerais and São Paulo, who went on to dominate the country's politics until the First Republic's fall in 1930.