First edition of an exceptionally rare pamphlet with anti-British poems, written in response to the Christie Question; the diplomatic crisis between the Brazilian and the British Empire that took place from 1862-1865. The work contains eight poems that express indignation towards the actions of the British government, and urge Brazil to resist foreign aggression. This aligns with the growing sense of national identity that was forming in post-independence Brazil. The present pamphlet is incredibly rare, as we have only been able to trace one other copy in sales records and two in institutions.
The Christie Question was named after William Dougal Christie (1816-1874), the British ambassador in Brazil. He actively tried to enforce the treaties relating to the trade in enslaved people, which caused difficulties between him and the Brazilian government. Diplomatic relations between the two empires were already tense because of the Aberdeen Act, which the British government passed 1845, and which gave Great Britain the right to seize foreign ships carrying enslaved people. Then in 1861, the Prince of Wales, a British merchant ship, ran aground on the Brazilian coast and was looted by locals. Christie demanded compensation, but Brazil refused. In retaliation, he ordered British naval ships to seize Brazilian ships off the coast of Rio, of which five were subsequently seized. The Brazilian government then agreed to pay for the Prince of Wales, but demanded compensation in return for the five Brazilian ships. Great Britain never paid, however, and diplomatic relations between the two empires were severed for several years as a result.
The poems in the present work were written by the poet Luís Nicolau Fagundes Varela (1841-1874) during the Prince of Wales conflict. Varela was a well-known member of the Brazilian ultra-Romanticist movement. Like other authors from this movement, he exaggerated Romantic ideals in his work, and had an interest in more macabre themes, but also differed from them because some of his poems centred around the theme of abolitionism. The poems in the present collection glorify Brazil as a blessed land, portray Emperor Dom Pedro II as an enlightened leader, attack Christie, and encourage the people to resist the British and fight for their homeland.
With the stamp of Livraria Magalhães on the recto of the front wrapper, the stamp of Livraria Brazileira on the verso, and a shelfmark stamp at the head of the title-page. The spine is rubbed, the joints are weakened, but the structural integrity of the binding is still intact. The work is somewhat browned and foxed throughout, the back wrapper has been reinforced on the recto at the foot. Otherwise in good condition. WorldCat 904039341 (2 copies); not in Borba de Moraes.