Electricity in Brazil-Part 1 [History]

The history of electricity in Brazil is a history of interlocking political, social, and technical forces. Although there was a public debate about industrializing the country when Brazil declared its independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822 and Dom Pedro I abdicated the Portuguese throne to move to Brazil as the first emperor, the majority of the 19th century politicians and large landowners considered the absence of significant industry as a result of some natural order. God had endowed the country with an exuber ant nature that supported a strong agricultural economy with lucrative exports, especially sugar and cotton; exports could be traded for manufactured goods; industrialization was of little interest; and without industrialization, there was little demand for electrical power. However, times changed. Dom Pedro's son, Dom Pedro II, became the second emperor, and with him begins the history of electricity in Brazil.