The fact that there are excellent historians recounting the events does not seem to fully justify the great interest aroused by Brazil during the Second Empire. There is certainly something else that makes it possible, more than a century later, to vividly feel the reality of a Gilberto Freyre’s pages. The rest of Brazilian history seems to be eclipsed by the second half of the 19th century, and much of what happened in those years is not included in historiography. Great men, great works being produced, the impression of a great country in development, creating and maturing. Even the disputes, the differences, the politics, carried something of timeless value. In other periods, only duty can cover the indifference that their successes arouse; and even so, it is difficult to transport oneself there…