José Joaquim da Rocha and the experience of constitutionalism in the historiography of the Brazilian Independence in the 19th century

Abstract

In this article, we examine some works produced throughout the 19th century on the independence of Brazil. Disputes concerning different national projects and ways of writing history mark these narratives. Among others, two main versions of the "Independence" event prevailed: A process leaded by the state, embodied by the Bragantine monarchy, on the other hand, a nation that emerged from the "patriotism" and the direct implication of the civil society. In the works of José da Silva Lisboa, Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen, Alexandre José de Mello Morais, and other authors linked to the Instituto Histórico Geográfico Brasileiro (IHGB), whe analyze the everyday life, the main events and figures, such as José Joaquim da Rocha – honored in certain narratives as "the first engine of the independence". We believe that the version presented by the historiography that would become hegemonic  – of a process led by the Bragantine dynasty – suppressed civil society actions, an important part of the constitutional experience and of a historiographical tradition that resisted this prevalent version.