Felisberto Caldeira Brant Pontes de Oliveira Horta, the Marquis of Barbacena (19 September 1772 – 13 June 1842) was a Brazilian soldier and statesman of both

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...

Life

Brant was born in Mariana, then the Portuguese Colony of Brazil, in 1772. He attended the Royal College of Nobles in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, eventually becoming an officer in the Portuguese army. Early in his career, Brant was sent to

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, where he served as aide de camp to the royal governor there. In 1807, during the

French invasion of Portugal French and Spanish forces invaded Portugal from 19–30 November 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars, sparking the Peninsular War. The Franco-Spanish invasion force was led by General Jean-Andoche Junot, while the Portuguese were under the nom ...

, the Prince Regent, Dom

João VI '' Dom'' John VI (; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), known as "the Clement" (), was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825, and after the recognition of Brazil's independence, titular Emperor of Brazil ...

, fled to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

with a large retinue. Brant, who had by then returned to Portugal, accompanied the Prince Regent to South America. There, he became a pioneer in the field of

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

transportation, developing such an interest in the method that he was granted official authorization to study it. By 1821, the Prince Regent had returned to Portugal, leaving his son Dom Pedro I in control of Brazil. Relations between the two regions grew tense, and Brazil broke away from the kingdom. Brant supported Dom Pedro, now the Emperor, being sent on a diplomatic mission to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

by José Bonifácio, the minister for both internal and foreign affairs. He met little success during his stay in England, and he returned to Brazil by 1826. During the

Cisplatine War The Cisplatine War was an armed conflict fought in the 1820s between the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata over control of Brazil's Cisplatina province. It was fought in the aftermath of the United Provinces' an ...

with Argentina, Brant rose to become commander-in-chief of Brazilian forces. He commanded the Brazilian army during a failed invasion of Argentina, and was fought to a draw in the

Battle of Ituzaingó The Battle of Ituzaingó, also known as the Battle of Passo do Rosário, was a pitched battle fought in the vicinity of the Santa Maria River, in a valley of small hills where a stream divided the valley into two. After a two-year series of cont ...

. In 1829, Brant was charged with finding a bride for Dom Pedro. He succeeded in this mission, but fell from grace shortly afterward. He died in 1842.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Senado Federal. Vida do Marquez de Barbacena
Ministers of finance of Brazil Brazilian generals Brazilian nobility 1772 births 1842 deaths People of the Cisplatine War People from Mariana, Minas Gerais {{Brazil-noble-stub