AHC: Make the Brazilian Empire a superpower

[Cahaya Purnama]

Well, Buenos Aires was considered on par with American and European cities in the early 20th century, but chronic political instability hindered Argentina throughout its history. That, and much of its economy at the time was dependent on ranching, which hurt it when food prices dropped.

Argentina is one of those nations that I think could have been a respectable power if it had better governance and if other countries stopped exploiting its economy for a while (e.g. the financial crisis of the late 90s). The 20th century hurt its standing a lot, especially after a coup in the 1930s if you believe the Wikipedia article. The satirical comic Mafalda written in the 1960s and early 1970s often makes jokes about Argentina being underdeveloped and everyone wanting to flee the country, hinting at its poor economic shape at the time.

(Read Mafalda if you know at least intermediate Spanish by the way. )


I like The Penguin History of Latin America for a general resource.

Through Five Republics On Horseback by G. Whitfield Ray has a portrayal of turn of the century Buenos Aires, though the author's prejudices will make you roll your eyes. Take that book with a shaker of salt.

The Gold Diggings of Cape Horn by John R. Spears can be found for free digitally and gives some perspective on the Patagonian gold rush of the 1870s.

EDIT: I study Spanish South America a lot more than I do Brazil, so I probably won't be much help there. The Penguin History of Latin America has a good amount of information on that country though.

could argentina stand better chance(s)?

 

[Cahaya Purnama]

With optimal administration, how advanced could Brazil have become?


These are my suggestions:

A POD in 1815
After the defeat of Napoleon, a coup occurs in Portugal in 1815 and John VI is unable to return to Portugal. Then, John VI declares the independence of Brazil and becomes the first emperor. The Brazilians continue loyal to John, because he is the legitimate king and the ones that took the power in Portugal are usurpers. In 1816, John dies because of a disease and Peter I becomes the new emperor.

To found a new empire, Peter I starts progressist policies. The first challenge is the abolition of slavery and latifundium, but the aristocracy is the most powerful group in the country. The first step is to attract immigrants and start the industrialization. The Atlantic slave trade was abolished. The early industrialization will avoid the disorganized expansion of the urban centers and the formation of slums in the future.

The agrarian reform will be done by creating laws. It is achieved with the moderator power, which is a power to nullify the separation of the three powers and keep the absolutism. The law forbids the owners of huge lands from purchasing more lands. Consequently, after the death of the owner of a latifundium, the latifundium will be divided equally to the heirs and the most successful sibling will not be able to buy the lands. Therefore, the lands will become cheap and the immigrants will be able to buy them.

Without the debt and the anti-independency conflicts, Brazil has resources to win the Cisplatine War and keep Cisplatine and expand the south borders.

Keeping the country stable, Peter I does not resign and the Ragamuffin War does not happen. Peter I is able to live for more 10 years and be succeeded in 1844.

From 1845 to 1850, a revolution starts a civil war and the result is the abolition of the slavery and the proclamation of the republic. (something similar happened in the OTL USA from 1861 to 1865) The new government structure will be definitive.

Since the freed men will be unemployed, the new government will start making heavy investments in the education.

The indigenous people will be offered education and their lands will be protected. In exchange, they will have to protect the forests against illegal destruction.


The second half of the 19th century
(??)

New challenges:
-Expand the territory. The annexation of Colombia and Bolivia would prevent the development of huge drug-trafficking networks in the future.
-Expand the rail network, but there is so much geologic elevation.
-Get a port to the Pacific Ocean, but the Andes is a wall that will prevent the expansion. The annexation of Colombia is an option, but there is a huge forest in the path.
-The cities in the Amazon forest are good places to build power plants and factories that expel much carbon dioxide, because the forest could filter the polluted air.
-There is an arid area in the Northeast. It can be developed following ideas used for developing in Arizona and Nevada.
-Decrease the occurrence of mosquito-related diseases.

The 20th century
(??)

New timeline, new problems:
-The rivalry with the USA will be born, but wars against the USA will be avoided. An agreement will keep the peace. The USA will control North America and the Caribbean, and Brazil will control South America.
-During any possible "world war" in Europe, Brazil will not participate and will sell goods and offer loans.
-During any possible "cold war", Brazil will develop nuclear weapons and any possible successful communist revolution will not cause an America invasion.

please continue i would subriced if that is the case