The Names of Independence , by Rodrigo Trespach, reveals the main characters behind one of the most important events in Brazilian history.
When discussing Brazil's independence, the first name that comes to mind is Dom Pedro I, the Portuguese prince who famously proclaimed the victory on the banks of the Ipiranga Stream and who would become emperor of the new nation. Without much effort, one also recalls King Dom João VI, with his reputation for indolent behavior; Patriarch José Bonifácio, renowned for his perspicacity; Dom Leopoldina, the well-educated empress; or the Marquise of Santos, the monarch's lover—figures prominent in films, soap operas, and accounts of the process that led to the September 7 Revolution.
However, the cast of the complex plot that resulted in the former colony's emancipation is much broader. The articulations involved progressive and conservative politicians, religious figures, female leaders, journalists, nobles, members of clandestine organizations, activists, foreigners, civil servants, and many others who, in some way, helped to write a new and important phase in the country's history.
In *The Names of Independence* , Rodrigo Trespach weaves the fabric of this founding event through the biographical narratives of fifty of these individuals. The historian recounts figures such as Gonçalves Ledo, Gama Lobo, Chalaça, Frei Caneca, Maria Quitéria, Lord Cochrane, Hipólito José da Costa, and others, as well as the artists who, in their time, recorded the epic of the nation's liberation, including Evaristo da Veiga, Pedro Américo, and Georgina de Albuquerque.
"This is a book to always have at hand, on your bedside table or, better yet, under your arm. The result of careful research by an attentive and insightful author, it is a work with a simple and generous organization, easy to read, but with enough depth to cover all the major events and protagonists of the time. It arrives at a good time." – Laurentino Gomes, journalist and writer
"In one of his cutting and brilliant phrases, Millôr Fernandes said: 'Brazil has an enormous past ahead of it.' This kind of deficit with history is a permanent cause of our setbacks. Against this backdrop, there are noteworthy initiatives, such as the work of Rodrigo Trespach, who, in his book on the figures of Brazil's Independence, takes the reader on an intelligent and enjoyable journey through fifty biographies that marked our founding." – Luiz Carlos Ramiro Junior, political scientist and former president of the National Library
"Some figures from the 19th century and the September 7 Revolution, with their tensions, divisions, and new beginnings, were analyzed in an educational text featuring a variety of actors. May the book contribute to the dissemination of the names mentioned and to the interest in other perspectives present in the conflicts in various provinces that culminated in Brazil's independence." – Rafael Dantas, historian
