Tribute to abolition of Slavery in Brazil 1888

This unique manuscript was written in 1888, in direct response to the Lei Áurea (Golden Law), which abolished slavery in Brazil on 13 May 1888. It was composed by Manoel Porcino dos Santos, an officer (alferes) of the National Guard in Cachoeira, Province of Bahia, and formally addressed to Princesa Isabel, who signed the law as regent of the Empire.

Combining a dedicatory letter with a handwritten poem, the manuscript reflects how abolition was experienced and commemorated beyond the imperial court in Rio de Janeiro. Rather than revolutionary rhetoric, the text expresses gratitude, loyalty, and moral elevation, portraying abolition as a lawful and redemptive act carried out under the authority of the Crown. This perspective was common in provincial Brazil, where imperial unity and moral legitimacy remained powerful ideals in the final years of the monarchy.

The manuscript is one of a kind. It is an original, unpublished autograph document, written by a named provincial author and preserved in its complete form. No known copies or parallels are recorded. As such, it offers a rare, immediate window into how the end of slavery was understood, celebrated, and personalized by contemporaries in 1888, making it an exceptional primary source for the political, cultural, and moral history of Brazil on the eve of the Republic.