Abstract
The aim of this article is to analyze Domingo Faustino Sarmiento’s approach to the Brazilian empire and especially to Pedro II in 1852, in the final context of the war against Juan Manuel de Rosas. The Argentine writer traveled to Brazil just after the battle of Monte Caseros in February 1852, when the then ruler of the Argentine Confederation was defeated by the army of Justo José de Urquiza based on an alliance signed with Brazil. In this context Sarmiento placed great emphasis on his encounter with the Brazilian emperor. This experience was reported through epistolary documents published in Campaña en el Ejército Grande Aliado de Sud-América. We seek here to demonstrate some approximations between Brazil and neighboring countries by analyzing the reports of a social actor considered relevant in the regional geopolitical scenario of the mid-nineteenth century. It can be observed that in this context Domingo Faustino Sarmiento showed interest in building a positive personal image through a discourse of reconciliation with Brazil.
Keywords:
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento; epistolary documents; D. Pedro II