Brazil and the USA: Similarities in Urban Development

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  Introduction My dissertation focused on the Brazilian production and reception of representations of the United States as a growing model of modern society in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Based on the analysis of parliamentary debates, newspaper articles, diplomatic correspondence, books, students' journals, and textual and pictorial advertisements in newspapers, among other historical documents, my findings indicate that the United States emerged as a new axis of reflection on the meaning of modernity for Brazilians well before the historical break traditionally chosen by historians as a landmark in the development of the United States as a modern world. By doing so, a gap in historiography has been identified: there has been no comprehensive examination of the United States' influence in Brazil previous to that historical watershed, as well as prior to Brazil's first republican regime's open relationship with the US government. My findings also challen
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Brazil and the USA: Parallel Paths in History

 

A Aurora Brazileira, Syracuse, 1873-1877.

A Aurora Brazileira was another of the monthly periodicals published in the decade of the 1870s in the United States by a group of Brazilians living there country. This publication is unique in that it was developed by students; its editors were civil and mechanical engineering students from the University of Cornell. In 1875, they resolved to devote the journal entirely to scientific issues; interestingly, several contemporaries saw A Aurora Brazileira as Brazil's first true scientific publication.548 The journal's name referred to the United States, which was regarded as 'the light that attracted so many compatriots in search of more proper teaching than the current Brazilian scenario can supply', according to the first issue, which was published in October 1873.549 Unfortunately, we do not know the complete number of Brazilians studying at US universities over the course of our studies. Nonetheless, despite our limited knowledge, we have a sense of the liberal elites' increased tendency, in relative terms, to send their sons to study in the United States. For example, by October 1870, there were approximately twelve Brazilian students enrolled in Cornell's Polytechnic School and the Philadelphia Industrial Academy.550 In October 1872, Cornell's School of Engineering welcomed three Brazilians from São Paulo. By the end of the year, three more Brazilians were expected to arrive, two from São Paulo and one from Maranhão. In January 1874, the university had a total of twenty-five Brazilian students.551 It is unclear how much O Novo Mundo's stories helped to draw young Brazilians to the United States. Despite Rodrigues' assurance that his intellectual endeavors were not intended to affect 'this exodus', it appears that the number of students at Cornell University, for example, increased following the journal's instructive articles.


A Aurora Brazileira had two distinct phases of existence, and as previously stated, its subtitle changed correspondingly. From 1873 to June 1875, it was known as the Periódico Litterario e Noticioso; however, from December 1875 to July 1877, when it was last published, the subtitle was altered to Engenharia, Mechanica, Sciencia, Artes, Agricultura e Manufatura. During its early years (1873-1875), the journal had several goals. First, it attempted to recruit potential Brazilian students to the United States in order to further their studies by providing relevant information about Cornell and other universities. The editor addressed the attention of European-oriented elites by writing:

I assume that our compatriots will prefer to send their sons to study in the United States rather than Europe, where colleges are known for their excellent educational systems.


Brazil must not fall behind in researching the organizational framework of this unique and magnificent society. It will only be able to do so by sending her kids to this country, where they will be able to breathe in a free environment and become accustomed to the frenetic lifestyle of modern civilizations, in addition to receiving a sound education.553
Second, by promoting US breakthroughs in agro-industrial growth, the editors hoped to draw the attention of Brazilian importers to the new variety of technology and know-how accessible in the US. Finally, they aimed to develop bilateral relations.554 Third, as critics of the Brazilian higher education system and the absence of any practical training in applied science, the journal's editors aimed to provide a practical means accessible.
They urged everyone to learn about the new technology and know-how being developed in the United States, where knowledge and education are "based on facts rather than banal theories."555 These students took on the mission of studying the American higher education system in order 'to compare it with the Brazilian system' and improve the latter.

The second phase of A Aurora Brazileria (1875-1877) was distinguished by a more precise purpose, the origins of which were already incorporated into the initial project. 


The students desired that the journal be the first Brazilian scientific publication while also being "a popular one where the worker could find what is useful and applicable; in short, a source of practical information that would push everybody to courageously and vigorously enter the practical life."557 Furthermore, they wished to promote scientific research in Brazil.558 To do this, they believed it was first necessary to "familiarize the Brazilian people with the progress that science is making here [in the United States] on a daily basis."559 Engravings and explanations of modern machinery, particularly equipment deemed fit for Brazil's surroundings, matched expectations.560 The journal was directed to landowners, merchants, and engineers, as well as mechanics, farmers, and regular workers. The editors emphasized the urgent need for practical mechanical, agriculture, and industry training, as well as the importance of revolutionizing the agricultural sector with cutting-edge machinery. The article also noted that in the United States, mathematics, chemistry, and physics were included in the curriculum beginning in primary school, making them accessible to everybody. In contrast, the editorial remarked, "Brazilian children may easily be good at
They narrate the wars between Carthage and Rome, as well as the combat between Caesar and Pompey, but are unaware of the chemical composition of the most familiar substance. And the author complained: "We live in the century of mechanics and geology, not rhetoric and scholastics."561
Interestingly, the editorial of A Aurora Brazileira acknowledged that the journal alone could not address Brazil's 'present demands'. Nonetheless, they believed the effort was justified if the journal served as an incentive for the next generation of Brazilians to continue on the path they had started.562 Despite this reservation, the journal was not free of criticism. When the editorial plan changed in mid-1875, the majority of its readers expressed dissatisfaction with the new, more ambitious, scientifically filled purpose. Political and economic elites viewed A Aurora Brazileira's lofty goals as "either premature or incompatible with Brazil's current conditions."563 Furthermore, detractors stated that 'until you write about politics, nobody would read you'.564 The editors replied:Many people say that there was never a desire in Brazil to study the sciences and arts, and that the majority of the populace would rather read a political piece or a novel by [José de] Alencar. Such a claim is untrue and unjust.565

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