Alexandre Mansur Barata ***

Introduction

This paper intends to present some important questions that characterize the past and present of Freemasonry in Brazil. In order to achieve this general goal, I will analyze the Masonic activity in Brazil during the nineteenth century by approaching it in three stages. First, I will discuss the introduction of the Masons in Brazil at the end of the eighteenth century and at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the country was still part of the Portuguese Empire. Secondly, I will analyze the Masons’ activities in events that culminated with the Declaration of Independence in September 1822 and the subsequent proclamation of D. Pedro I as emperor of Brazil. Finally, I will analyze the achievements of Brazilian Freemasonry in the second half of the nineteenth century and assess how the Freemasons flourished into one of the fastest-growing movements of that period. It was also during this time, under the rule of Emperor D. Pedro II, that Brazil experienced profound social changes, the most important being the abolition of slavery in 1888.