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João Maurício Vanderlei, Baron of Cotegipe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baron of Cotegipe
Picture by Alberto Henschel, 1875
Prime Minister of Brazil
In office
20 August 1885 – 10 March 1888
MonarchPedro II
Preceded byJosé Antônio Saraiva
Succeeded byJoão Alfredo de Oliveira
Minister of Justice
In office
27 January 1887 – 8 February 1887
Preceded byJoaquim Ribeiro da Luz
Succeeded bySamuel Wallace MacDowell
Personal details
Born23 October 1815
Barra, Pernambuco, Kingdom of Brazil
Died13 February 1889(1889-02-13) (aged 73)
Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil
Political partyConservative
OccupationPolitician

João Maurício Vanderlei or Wanderley, first and only baron of Cotegipe (October 23, 1815 – February 13, 1889), was a Brazilian magistrate and politician of the Conservative Party.

Born as the son of João Maurício Vanderlei, a Dutch descendant,[1] and Francisca Antónia do Livramento, of Portuguese ancestry.

He graduated from the University of Olinda in 1837 with a bachelor's degree in Law and was Marine Minister, Farm Minister, External Minister and Justice Minister of Brazil. He was also President of the Senate of Brazil from 1881 to 1885,[2] and President of the Council of Ministers from 1885 until 1888 and president of the Banco do Brasil.

Wanderley was responsible for the approvement of the Sexagenarians Law in 1885, which granted freedom to slaves who were older than 60 years old.

He was dismissed from his post by Princess Isabel during her third regency in 1888. Months later, as a senator, he was the only one to vote against the approval of the Golden Law, which abolished slavery. He is assigned the dialogue with the Princess where he says: "Your Highness released a race but lost the throne" to which the Princess promptly replied: "A thousand thrones I had, a thousand thrones I would give to liberate the slaves of Brazil"

Portrait of Wanderley while President of the Province of Bahia, by Augusto Müller, 1853

References

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  1. ^ Chico Buarque é de Holanda
  2. ^ "Império (1826-1889) - Senado Federal". www25.senado.leg.br.
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