Brazilian Anthropological Exhibition of 1882
Encyclopedia
The Brazilian Anthropological Exhibition of 1882 was one of the most important scientific events of the nineteenth-century Brazil
, conducted by the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro
and heavily influenced by Darwinism
.
, led to large increase of scientific institutions in Latin America
, and made the museum the preferential sites of exposure of these theories .
Such theories have been adapted and took specific format in Brazil in order to legitimize some speculation about the position as they would be blacks and mestizos in the evolutionary chain suggested by Darwin
.
It was in this context that, in 1882, the National Museum, directed by Ladislau Netto, as a generator of research and academic issues, promoted the Brazilian Anthropological Exhibition. To bring the collection to be shown in the exhibition, Netto sent requests to all provinces molds Botocudo
arrived from Goias
and Espírito Santo
came ethnological objects of Amazonas and Mato Grosso
, lithic and ceramic pieces were sent by the Museum of Paraná, and private collections. The books were borrowed from the National Library.
According to the Show Guide, the collections were organized in eight halls, especially redecorated for the occasion, receiving the names of naturalists and missionaries of the past, such as Pero Vaz de Caminha
, Jean de Lery
, Gabriel Soares de Sousa, José de Anchieta
, Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira
, and contemporary scientists, such as Martius
, Hartt
and Lund
. In each of these sections were displayed various archaeological objects to a greater or lesser number. The room Lund was the one that got fossilized human remains, while the Hartt contained most of the ceramic fragments and Lery the remains of middens.
For reporting on the event to the general public, the exhibition was attended by journalists of the leading journals of the city, including the famous (and feared) cartoonist, Angelo Agostini
, and photographer Marc Ferrez
. As special attraction, were brought a small group of Indians Botocudos, from Espírito Santo, and three other Indians Xerente
of Minas Gerais
.
Prestigious by the presence of the emperor himself, D. Pedro II
and his daughter, Princess Isabel, the Exhibition was inaugurated on July 29, 1882, extending over three months. He had an audience of over a thousand visitors, a real success in the country, with international repercussions.
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...
, conducted by the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro
National Museum of Brazil
The National Museum of Brazil is a centenarian museum and research institution, located in the Quinta da Boa Vista park in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.-History:...
and heavily influenced by Darwinism
Darwinism
Darwinism is a set of movements and concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or of evolution, including some ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin....
.
History
In the second half of the nineteenth century - particularly since the 1870s - the popularization of evolutionary theories on the rise in EuropeEurope
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...
, led to large increase of scientific institutions in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and made the museum the preferential sites of exposure of these theories .
Such theories have been adapted and took specific format in Brazil in order to legitimize some speculation about the position as they would be blacks and mestizos in the evolutionary chain suggested by Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
.
It was in this context that, in 1882, the National Museum, directed by Ladislau Netto, as a generator of research and academic issues, promoted the Brazilian Anthropological Exhibition. To bring the collection to be shown in the exhibition, Netto sent requests to all provinces molds Botocudo
Botocudo
Botocudo , is the foreign name for a tribe of South American Indians of eastern Brazil, also known as the Aimorés, Aimborés, or Krenak people...
arrived from Goias
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...
and Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...
came ethnological objects of Amazonas and Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
, lithic and ceramic pieces were sent by the Museum of Paraná, and private collections. The books were borrowed from the National Library.
According to the Show Guide, the collections were organized in eight halls, especially redecorated for the occasion, receiving the names of naturalists and missionaries of the past, such as Pero Vaz de Caminha
Pêro Vaz de Caminha
Pêro Vaz de Caminha , was a Portuguese knight that accompanied Pedro Álvares Cabral to India in 1500, as a secretary to the royal factory. Caminha wrote the detailed official report of the April 1500 discovery of Brazil by Cabral's fleet...
, Jean de Lery
Jean de Léry
Jean de Léry was an explorer, writer and Reformed Pastor born in Lamargelle, Côte-d'Or, France. Little is known of his early life; and he might have remained unknown had he not accompanied a group of Protestants to their new colony on an island in the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...
, Gabriel Soares de Sousa, José de Anchieta
José de Anchieta
José de Anchieta was a Canarian Jesuit missionary to Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's history in the 1st century after its discovery on April 22, 1500 by a Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral, Anchieta was one of the founders of...
, Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira
Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira
Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira was a naturalist born in the Portuguese colony of Brazil. He undertook an extensive journey which crossed the interior of the Amazon Basin to Mato Grosso, between 1783 and 1792. During this journey, he described the agriculture, flora, fauna, and native inhabitants...
, and contemporary scientists, such as Martius
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was a German botanist and explorer.Martius was born at Erlangen, where he graduated M.D. in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the botanic garden of the university...
, Hartt
Charles Frederick Hartt
Charles Frederick Hartt was an Canadian-American geologist, paleontologist and naturalist who specialized in the geology of Brazil.-Exploration in Brazil:...
and Lund
Peter Wilhelm Lund
Peter Wilhelm Lund was a Danish paleontologist, zoologist, archeologist and who spent most of his life working and living in Brazil...
. In each of these sections were displayed various archaeological objects to a greater or lesser number. The room Lund was the one that got fossilized human remains, while the Hartt contained most of the ceramic fragments and Lery the remains of middens.
For reporting on the event to the general public, the exhibition was attended by journalists of the leading journals of the city, including the famous (and feared) cartoonist, Angelo Agostini
Angelo Agostini
Angelo Agostini was an illustrator, journalist and founder of several publications, and although born in Italy, is considered the first Brazilian cartoonist.-Biography:...
, and photographer Marc Ferrez
Marc Ferrez
Marc Ferrez was a Brazilian photographer born in Rio de Janeiro.Ferrez's life was dedicated to the art of photography and he is considered one of the greatest photographers of his time. His production was massive, and his photographs document the consolidation of Brazil as a nation and Rio de...
. As special attraction, were brought a small group of Indians Botocudos, from Espírito Santo, and three other Indians Xerente
Xerente
Xerente are an indigenous people of Brazil specifically Tocantins.They are a Central Jê people related to the Xavante. They maintained generally "peaceful" relations with outsiders from the nineteenth century onward...
of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
.
Prestigious by the presence of the emperor himself, D. 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...
and his daughter, Princess Isabel, the Exhibition was inaugurated on July 29, 1882, extending over three months. He had an audience of over a thousand visitors, a real success in the country, with international repercussions.