Makers of the Modern World
4 total works
Epitacio Pessoa (1865-1942). Brazil was one of the emerging world powers to be invited to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Having jettisoned her empire just thirty years before, the Portuguese-speaking nation was showed signs of becoming one of the financial powerhouses not just of Latin America, but of the world. In Paris, the country's delegation was led by Epitacio Pessoa, a brilliant lawyer who negotiated a deal to rescue Brazilian coffee from the German ports where it had languished since the middle of the war. He also helped win a place at the top table for Brazil in the new League of Nations. Pessoa was then rewarded by being elected president of Brazil even though he was in Paris at the time. Yet even as Brazil enjoyed its moment of triumph on the international stage, the country's political system was starting to unravel. Pessoa's presidency ended in failure in 1922, its modest achievements overshadowed by bitter army revolts. This, then, is the story of Epitacio Pessoa, the Treaty of Versailles and the rise and fall of Brazil's tumultuous First Republic.
While Portuguese-speaking Brazil declared war on Germany in the First World War, the rest of South America held back. In the end no other South American nation joined the fighting. But four - Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay - did break off diplomatic relations with Germany in 1917, in sympathy with US policy and with the Allies in Europe. Their reward was a place at the Paris Peace Conference table and for the first time a chance to play a role on the world stage rather than just in their own backyard.
While Portuguese-speaking Brazil declared war on Germany, in the First World War, the rest of South America held back. In the end no other South American nation joined the fighting. But four - Bolivia, Equador, Peru and Uruguay - did break off diplomatic relations with Germany in 1917, in sympathy with US policy and with the Allies in Europe. Their reward was a place at the Paris Peace Conference table and for the first time a chance to play a role on the world stage rather than just in their own backyard.
