Alfredo D'Escragnolle Taunay
Encyclopedia
Alfredo Maria Adriano d'Escragnolle Taunay, Viscount of Taunay (February 22, 1843 — January 25, 1899) was a Brazil
ian writer
, musician
, professor
, military engineer
, historian
, politician
, sociologist
and nobleman. He is famous for the Regionalist
novel
Inocência.
He founded and occupied the 13th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
from 1897 until his death in 1899.
, in 1843. His father was Félix Taunay, a painter, professor and headmaster of the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes
; his mother, Gabriela Hermínia Robert d'Escragnolle Taunay, was one of the sisters of Gastão d'Escragnolle, the Baron d'Escragnolle; and his grandfather was the famous French painter Nicolas-Antoine Taunay. Growing up in a cultured environment, Taunay studied Literature
and Humanities
at the Colégio Pedro II
, graduating in 1858. He would study Physics
and Mathematics
in what is now the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras. An Ensign
in 1862, bachelor in Mathematics in 1863 and an Artillery
Lieutenant
in 1864, he was matriculated in the second year of military engineering, but he did not finish it because of the Paraguayan War
. From his experiences at the war, he wrote the memoirs Cenas de Viagem in 1868 and the famous historic account La Retraite de Laguna (French
for The Retreat of Laguna) in 1872, translating it to Portuguese
two years later.
Taunay wrote and published his first romance, Mocidade de Trajano (Trajan
's Youth), in 1871, under the pen name
Sílvio Dinarte. Appointed by the future Viscount of Rio Branco José Maria da Silva Paranhos, Sr., he became the general deputy of Goiás
from 1872 to 1875, a Major
in 1875 and the governor of Santa Catarina
from 1876 to 1877. In 1885, he would ask his demission of the Major post.
Taunay married Cristina Teixeira Leite, daughter of Francisco José Teixeira Leite, the Baron
of Vassouras
, granddaughter of Francisco José Teixeira, the 1st Baron of Itambé
, and step-niece of Custódio Ferreira Leite, the Baron of Aiuruoca
. They would have one son, the future historian Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay (1876–1958).
Taunay was a member of the Conservative Party
, but when the party fell, in 1878, he travelled to Europe
, returning only in 1880.
From 1881 to 1884, he was the deputy of Santa Catarina. He candidated himself to the post of deputy of Rio de Janeiro
, but was defeated. From 1885 to 1886, he became the governor of Paraná
.
In 1889, Emperor Pedro II
gave him the title of Viscount
of Taunay. However, when Brazil became a Republic, the nobility
ranks were all abolished. Taunay, disgusted, abandoned his political career, since he was a monarchist
.
He died in 1899.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and nobleman. He is famous for the Regionalist
Regionalism (literature)
In literature, regionalism or local color refers to fiction or poetry that focuses on specific features – including characters, dialects, customs, history, and topography – of a particular region...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Inocência.
He founded and occupied the 13th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
Academia Brasileira de Letras
Academia Brasileira de Letras is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century by a group of 40 writers and poets inspired by the Académie Française. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on December 15, 1896, with the statutes being...
from 1897 until his death in 1899.
Life
Taunay was born in Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, in 1843. His father was Félix Taunay, a painter, professor and headmaster of the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes
Escola Nacional de Belas Artes
Escola de Belas Artes is one of the centers of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and dates back to colonial times....
; his mother, Gabriela Hermínia Robert d'Escragnolle Taunay, was one of the sisters of Gastão d'Escragnolle, the Baron d'Escragnolle; and his grandfather was the famous French painter Nicolas-Antoine Taunay. Growing up in a cultured environment, Taunay studied Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
at the Colégio Pedro II
Colégio Pedro II (Rio de Janeiro)
Colégio Pedro II is a Federal Public School named after Pedro II of Brazil. It was founded on December 2 1837, and made official by Imperial decree on December 20 of the same year. It was named after the Emperor, since it was founded on his birthday....
, graduating in 1858. He would study Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
in what is now the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras. An Ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
in 1862, bachelor in Mathematics in 1863 and an Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1864, he was matriculated in the second year of military engineering, but he did not finish it because of the Paraguayan War
War of the Triple Alliance
The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...
. From his experiences at the war, he wrote the memoirs Cenas de Viagem in 1868 and the famous historic account La Retraite de Laguna (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for The Retreat of Laguna) in 1872, translating it to Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
two years later.
Taunay wrote and published his first romance, Mocidade de Trajano (Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
's Youth), in 1871, under the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Sílvio Dinarte. Appointed by the future Viscount of Rio Branco José Maria da Silva Paranhos, Sr., he became the general deputy of Goiás
Goiás
Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...
from 1872 to 1875, a Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in 1875 and the governor of Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
from 1876 to 1877. In 1885, he would ask his demission of the Major post.
Taunay married Cristina Teixeira Leite, daughter of Francisco José Teixeira Leite, the Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
of Vassouras
Vassouras
Vassouras is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 33,206 and its area is 552 km².Vassouras is known for its colonial-era coffee farms, including Fazenda Santa Eufrasia ....
, granddaughter of Francisco José Teixeira, the 1st Baron of Itambé
Itambé
Itambé is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...
, and step-niece of Custódio Ferreira Leite, the Baron of Aiuruoca
Aiuruoca
Aiuruoca is a city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. In 2004 its population was estimated to be 6,394.Aiuruoca was founded in 1706....
. They would have one son, the future historian Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay (1876–1958).
Taunay was a member of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (Brazil)
The Conservative Party was a Brazilian political party of the imperial period, which was formed circa 1836 and ended with the proclamation of the Republic in 1889...
, but when the party fell, in 1878, he travelled to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, returning only in 1880.
From 1881 to 1884, he was the deputy of Santa Catarina. He candidated himself to the post of deputy of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
, but was defeated. From 1885 to 1886, he became the governor of Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
.
In 1889, Emperor Pedro II
Pedro II of Brazil
Dom Pedro II , nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of...
gave him the title of Viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
of Taunay. However, when Brazil became a Republic, the nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
ranks were all abolished. Taunay, disgusted, abandoned his political career, since he was a monarchist
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
.
He died in 1899.
Novels
- Mocidade de Trajano (18701870 in literatureThe year 1870 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Thomas Bailey Aldrich - The Story of a Bad Boy*Thomas Archer - The Terrible Sights of London*Rhoda Broughton - Red as a rose is she...
— under pen name Sílvio Dinarte) - La Retraite de Laguna (published in 18721872 in literatureThe year 1872 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Paul Verlaine abandons his family to go to London with Arthur Rimbaud....
, originally in FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
; translated into PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
by Taunay in 18741874 in literatureThe year 1874 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Arthur William à Beckett joins the staff of Punch.*Johan Nicolai Madvig loses his sight, forcing him to give up most of his research and writing....
) - Inocência (18721872 in literatureThe year 1872 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Paul Verlaine abandons his family to go to London with Arthur Rimbaud....
) - Lágrimas do Coração (18731873 in literatureThe year 1873 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*3 March - The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail....
) - Ouro Sobre Azul (18751875 in literatureThe year 1875 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*October 1 - American poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe is reburied in Westminster Hall and Burying Ground with a larger memorial marker. Some controversy arose years later as to whether the correct body was exhumed.*...
) - O Encilhamento (18941894 in literatureThe year 1894 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Robert Frost sells his first poem, "My Butterfly", to The New York Independent for fifteen dollars.*Hermann Hesse begins his apprenticeship at a factory in Calw....
) - No Declínio (18991899 in literatureThe year 1899 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Edgar Rice Burroughs begins working in his father's business.*Rainer Maria Rilke travels to Moscow to meet Leo Tolstoy....
)
Short story collections
- Histórias Brasileiras (18741874 in literatureThe year 1874 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Arthur William à Beckett joins the staff of Punch.*Johan Nicolai Madvig loses his sight, forcing him to give up most of his research and writing....
) - Narrativas Militares (18781878 in literatureThe year 1878 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*January 28 - The Yale News becomes the first daily college newspaper in the United States.*Guy de Maupassant becomes an employee of the Ministry of Public Instruction....
)
Theater
- Da Mão à Boca se Perde a Sopa (18741874 in literatureThe year 1874 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Arthur William à Beckett joins the staff of Punch.*Johan Nicolai Madvig loses his sight, forcing him to give up most of his research and writing....
) - Por um Triz, Coronel! (18801880 in literatureThe year 1880 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Henry Adams - Democracy: An American Novel *Rhoda Broughton - Second Thoughts*Wilkie Collins - Jezebel's Daughter...
) - Amélia Smith (18861886 in literatureThe year 1886 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* MLN: Modern Language Notes, an academic journal founded with the intention of introducing European literary criticism into American scholarship, is founded at the Johns Hopkins University.-Books:*Louisa May Alcott - Jo's...
)
Other
- Cenas de Viagem (18681868 in literatureThe year 1868 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*First edition of the World Almanac is published.*Emile Zola defends his criticized first novel against charges of pornography and corruption of morals....
) - Estudos Críticos (18811881 in literatureThe year 1881 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* March 4 - A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes story, begins.* The first of the three-volume History of Woman Suffrage, was published by Susan B...
— 18831883 in literatureThe year 1883 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Mary Elizabeth Braddon - Phantom Fortune*Rhoda Broughton - Belinda*Wilkie Collins - Heart and Science*Jonas Lie - Familien paa Gilje ...
) - Céus e Terras do Brasil (18821882 in literatureThe year 1882 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*F. Anstey - Vice Versa*Walter Besant - The Revolt of Man*Bankim Chatterjee - Anandmath*Richard Doddridge Blackmore -Christowell*Wilkie Collins - After Dark...
)
Posthumous works
- Reminiscências (19081908 in literatureThe year 1908 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Afawarq Gabra Iyasus - Libb Wolled Tārīk , the first novel in Amharic*Leonid Andreyev - The Seven Who Were Hanged...
) - Trechos de Minha Vida (19111911 in literatureThe year 1911 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*George Moore publishes the first of his three-volume Hail and Farewell .*Gallimard publishing house founded in Paris by Gaston Gallimard...
) - Viagens de Outrora (19211921 in literatureThe year 1921 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Edgar Rice Burroughs – Tarzan the Terrible*James Branch Cabell – Figures of Earth*Hall Caine – The Master of Man*Willa Cather – Alexander's Bridge...
) - Visões do Sertão (19231923 in literatureThe year 1923 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey makes his first appearance in print....
) - Dias de Guerra e do Sertão (19231923 in literatureThe year 1923 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey makes his first appearance in print....
) - Homens e Coisas do Império (19241924 in literatureThe year 1924 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Ford Madox Ford publishes the first book of a four-volume work titled Parade's End published between 1924 and 1928.-New books:*Michael Arlen - The Green Hat...
)