Expiring empires: the Abbé Correia da Serra and the Pernambuco Revolt of 1817

Abstract

This paper examines Portuguese-American diplomacy in the context of the Pernambuco Revolt of 1817 from the perspective of the Abbé Correia da Serra (1751-1823), Minister Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves to the United States of America between 1816 and 1820. Based on his extant correspondence, it is argued that despite Correia da Serra’s high level connections to American political and intellectual circles, his diplomatic activity in Washington on behalf of the Portuguese monarchy was largely ineffectual. Following the declaration of an independent republic in Pernambuco, Recife, on March 6, 1817, the Abbé was unable to deflect criticism from his diplomatic activity in the US given the amount of support that existed in the country for the independence movements then bourgeoning in Central and South America, not just among American government officials, but also within its public opinion and the more radical press. The US government opposed the designs of Old World monarchies to maintain the colonial status of their territories in the New World, aiming to transform itself into the guardian of the Americas in line with what was to become known from 1823 onwards as the Monroe Doctrine