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The Diary of Isabella Herrara[]

November 17th, 1889[]

Dear Diary,

Today, more then ever, I have been very upset with this current situation with our government, as well as the revolution being sprung upon us. I would agree the the abolition of slavery would help the people of Brazil unite, however, there needs to be more rights for other parties too. For instance, I am a farmer and the government is constantly telling us to make more food for society. The government is always trying to make a deadline, and we get paid very little, although we work for hours during the day. We need money to support our families, but I am making such a low amount, that I can hardly support myself. What people don’t realize is that farmers are perhaps the most essential part of society. We provide food for neighboring villages and continue to help our civilization strive. Let’s say there were no farmers- civilization would crumble. The government only thinks about the rubber trade or the textile trade, but food is a necessity to survive [1]. This is what the government doesn’t understand- that farmers hold the society together and we should be getting more recognition and wages for our effort. Until tomorrow.
-Isabella

November 24th, 1889[]

Dear Diary,

Since the Revolution is causing slavery to be abolished, we now need to work towards giving more rights to farmers. The Revolution is not helping farmers at all, and this really needs to change. Hopefully, we can convince the people to finally agree with farmers and give us our fair due. However, I agree with the military for overthrowing their king and causing a revolution. The monarchy in power wasn’t doing a good job at giving the citizens enough rights. They were keeping many slaves, which is a despicable act in making human beings do work and chores for you. The slave owners were not treating them fairly at all- slaves would work all day in tending the farms and performing their master’s bidding, and all the masters would do in return is whip them and keep working them harder. So, I agree with the revolution happening to help out slaves and abolish it, but I also don’t know why slaves are the only ones getting more rights. Farmers work almost as hard as slaves, because we are tending the fields all day in the hot sun just like them. Also, there is obviously a lot more to work for because we are working for a living, to keep our families happy by making enough money to support them. There are times when it looks like we’ll not be able to make rent, where getting food on the table is always in question, and it is a struggle having enough energy to play with my kids. This is very ironic because I grow crops for a living, and I don’t even have enough food to feed my family because of the high rent prices for our house. This is a perfect example of why farmers should be making more money for their crops.
-Isabella

December 11th, 1889[]

Dear Diary,

The Washington Post describes the revolution as, “A good thing because this will end monarchy in South America and create freedom for everybody [2].” I do not agree with this statement because they describe how the revolution is now going to suddenly change everything in Brazil, and everyone is going to be happy. This is not true at all because the farmers are still being treated unfairly, and we are not getting fair wages to support families and our higher recognition. I would disagree with The Washington Post because although the revolution has had some positive impact, it hasn't helped everyone, at least not yet. Farmers still don't have proper rights and representation.
-Isabella

December 17th, 1889[]

Dear Diary,

The revolution turned out to be a big step towards helping the different parties in our country, but the republic still has a long way to go. The republic needs to be able to say after 10-15 years that they have worked to their maximum potential in trying to end all unfair treatment towards the different parties in Brazil. I feel that if this is the case then they will be able to give farmers the rights that they truly deserve. This includes better payment for all the hard work that we do in delivering most of the country’s food supply, and some more recognition for working all day in the field’s (with low payment) to deliver the top crops to the Brazilian people. The revolution abolished slavery, and in doing so ended the monarchy forever in Brazil, but the republic still has a lot of work to do by giving farmers their deserved rights.
-Isabella

References[]

  1. http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/samerica/brazil18891914.html
  2. “The Republic of Brazil." The Washington Post 18 Nov. 1889.

a) "The First Republic." Zum.de. 2001. 10 Nov. 2008 <http:/www.zum.de/whkmla/region/samerica/brazil18891914.html>.

b) Brazilian Revolution of 1889." World History: The Modern Era. 2008. ABC-CLIO. 10 Nov. 2008 <http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com>.

c)“The Republic of Brazil." The Washington Post 18 Nov. 1889.


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