A coroa e a espada no espetáculo das nações: as auto-imagens da monarquia e da república do Brasil nas Exposições Universais de 1889 e 1904

Abstract

The present work deals with the images constructed by the imperial and republican brazilian governments for the Universal Exhibitions, within the reorientation of brazilian foreign policy between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Thus, it seeks to reveal the images that the Brazilian government exhibits to other countries at the Universal Exhibitions in Paris in 1889 and in Saint Louis in 1904, with the first still in the Empire and the second already in the republican period. The research was carried out through qualitative bibliographic and documentary analysis of primary documents made by the brazilian representations in these events, obtained from government digital files, and the analysis of secondary sources on brazilian foreign policy and the country's participation, in order to clarify the priorities of each participation and show eventual continuities or changes. For this, four areas of study were outlined: political, modernity, economic and racial. Of the four spheres, only the political one has changes. In Paris, the European monarchy was exalted, and in Saint Louis, the brazilian republic was largely responsible for progress and should be close to the United States of America. In the other spheres, there were the same images, but with different references: they show itself modern through progress and industries; attraction of European immigrants; and distance from the influences of indigenous and black ethnicities. Therefore, if there were changes in brazil's international relations, these discontinuities could also be seen in the images taken from the country to those universal events, because even with the continuity in three fields, the reference was no longer Europe, but the United States.