Ignacio de Avellar Barbosa da Silva

Ignacio de Avellar Barbosa da Silva was a diplomatic secretary whose assignments included Uruguay, Washington, and Ecuador. He took charge in Washington in May 1864 during Miguel Maria Lisboa’s leave. ^{1, 2}

Barbosa da Silva protested the Union warship Wachusett’s seizure of the Confederate cruiser Florida in neutral Brazilian waters at Bahia. His December 1864 note invoked an American precedent: Washington and Jefferson had demanded restitution when a French frigate captured a British ship in Delaware Bay in 1793. Seward’s reply disavowed the unauthorized seizure, promised proceedings against the captain and dismissal of the consul, and announced a salute to Brazil’s flag. The United States nevertheless rejected Brazil’s recognition of Confederate naval belligerency. ⁴

In May 1865 he reported freedpeople’s demands for voting rights while repeating hostile assumptions about their work. In July he conveyed the Brazilian parliament’s condolences over Lincoln’s assassination. He later served in Ecuador in 1867–1869. ^{2, 3, 1}