The Enigma of Liberalism in Imperial Brazil, 1822-1889

The Empire of Brazil, 1822-1889, conformed, it is widely agreed, to the Liberal model. The constitution of 1824 incorporated its precepts; political discourse was conducted in those terms; reform campaigns sought to remove imperfections. While not untrue, this narrative evades the inconsistencies and contradictions, some innate to the ideology, some specific to the country, that characterized Liberalism in Imperial Brazil. Radical liberals (such as Teófilo Ottoni, “the king of the people,”) eschewed social reforms. Slavery long remained a taboo subject, being abolished only in 1888. The impetus for reform often lay not in popular pressure but in imposition from above. Very importantly, the Liberal order depended on the oversight and management of Pedro II (“I have sworn the Constitution”) who, as one critic observed, “spent fifty years pretending he ruled a free people”. Liberalism in Imperial Brazil was an enigma, simultaneously a reality and an artifice

Chapitre 2. La révolution napoléonienne et la construction de l’Empire brésilien

« Vive l’Empereur ! »« Viva o Imperador ». Napoléon a eu une influence considérable sur les Brésiliens pendant les premières décennies du XIXesiècle. Napoléon et son régime ont d’abord servi de source d’inspiration à ceux qui aspiraient à l’indépendance du Brésil. Ils ont aussi servi de modèle pour l’État-nation désiré et pour la structure de cet État-nation, une fois l’indépendance accomplie en 1822. Le fait que l’influence de Napoléon n’était pas reconnue à l’époque et n’a pas été admise pa..

A nonlinear switched-capacitor network for edge detection in early vision

A nonlinear switched-capacitor (SC) network for solving the early vision variational problem of edge detection has been designed and constructed using standard SC techniques and a novel nonlinear externally controlled SC resistive element. This new SC element allows, to a limited extent, the form of the variational problem to be "programmable". This allows nonconvex variational problems to be solved by the network using continuation-type methods. Appropriately designed SC networks are guaranteed to converge to a locally stable steady-state. As well, SC networks offer increased accuracy over analog networks composed of nonlinear resistances built from multiple MOSFETs. The operation of the network was analyzed and found to be equivalent to the numerical analysis minimization algorithm of gradient descent. The network's capabilities were demonstrated by "programming" the network to perform the graduated nonconvexity algorithm. A high-level functional network simulation was used to verify the correct operation of the GNC algorithm. A one-dimensional six node CMOS VLSI test chip was designed, simulated and submitted for fabrication.Applied Science, Faculty ofElectrical and Computer Engineering, Department ofGraduat

Biography as History

Biography has been for the last fifty years the stepchild of history. Drawing on the author’s personal experience as a biographer and a reader of biographies, the article considers the reasons why most historians avoid biography, examines the three unproductive forms of the genre or “no gos” to be avoided by would-be biographers, discusses the five caveats that should guide those writing biographies, and indicates the ways in which biography can be employed to advance our understanding of the past. Despite being a genre abounding in problems, biography is both viable and valuable, a useful but not a major weapon in the historian’s arsenal.Depuis un demi-siècle, la biographie est l’enfant pauvre de l’histoire. L’auteur, puisant dans son expérience personnelle à titre de biographe et de lecteur de biographies, étudie ici les raisons pour lesquelles la plupart des historiens évitent ce genre historique. Il en analyse les trois formes stériles (ou embûches à éviter), énonce cinq bémols qui doivent guider les aspirants biographes et indique les façons dont la biographie peut servir à faire avancer nos connaissances sur le passé. En définitive, malgré ses nombreux écueils, la biographie est à la fois viable et valable; c’est un outil utile, mais pas de la plus grande envergure, dans la trousse de l’historien