[BRAZIL - MARIA I QUEEN OF PORTUGAL].
[Drop-title:] Eu o principe regente faço saber aos que este meu Alvará com força de lei virem: que sendo-Me presente a falta de Administração de justiça, que ha nas Villas, e Julgados do interior da Comarca de Pernambuco ...
Rio de Janeiro, Na impressão Regia, 15 January 1810. With a (woodcut?) decorated initial. Modern mottled (faux-) leather. [3], [1 blank] pp.
€ 850
This is an extremely rare early nineteenth-century Brazilian royal pamphlet calling for the revamping of the court system in Pernambuco. Only one other copy is known to exist, held today at the John Carter Brown Library in Richmond, RI. According to Camargo-Borba de Moraes, another edition of this texts exists with minor differences in the spelling. The pamphlet addresses the issue of a lack of justice administration in the villas and courts of the Pernambuco district in Brazil. Issued by Queen Maria I of Portugal, the opening paragraphs of the pamphlet describe the current state of judicial affairs in the region as unsatisfying, since "a single man cannot carry out the tasks sufficiently in a region so large". It further details that "my subjects do not enjoy the guaranteed security of their lives and property as they are lawfully entitled to" (p. 1). To remedy this, the pamphlet proposes a six-part solution that involves dividing the state into two sections for easier management. The "Alvará with the force of Law" signed by the royal family on January 15, 1810, and countersigned by the count of Aguiar creates a new judicial district called "Sertão de Pernambuco." This district covers a larger area than the previous administration and will be governed according to the wishes of the queen. The pamphlet also outlines the appointment of a new bailiff and clerk to assist with the execution of the. The queen grants the new officeholder the power to delegate judicial power to local deputies throughout the district to rule on minor cases in his stead.
This pamphlet was published in 1810 during a tumultuous period in Brazilian history. Brazil's independence was sparked by the arrival of the Portuguese royal family in the country, and Portugal's occupation by Napoleon's army made it unable to function as Brazil's metropole. This resulted in the opening of Brazil's ports to foreign trade and the establishment of new bureaucratic institutions in the country. Despite rebellions in several regions, including Pernambuco, Brazil remained territorially intact, with the exception of the loss of what is now Uruguay.
With some pencil annotations and a very small manuscript number (266) in brown ink, all in the top right corner of leaf [A]1r. The back board is very slightly scruffed, with some minor foxing, mainly to the margins of the leaves. Camargo-Borba de Moraes, bibl. da impressão régia vol. 2, 112; WorldCat 82824116 (1 copy: John Carter Brown Library).
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