Salvador Furtado de Mendonça Drummond

Salvador de Meneses Drummond Furtado de Mendonça combined republican politics with journalism, literature, and diplomacy. Born in Itaboraí in 1841, he interrupted his law studies after his parents died and took responsibility for his younger siblings. He taught at Colégio Pedro II, returned to São Paulo to finish his degree, and helped found the Republican Club in 1870. He contributed to its manifesto and worked on the newspaper A República. His literary work included translations and the novel Marabá. ¹

Consular appointments took Mendonça to the United States in the 1870s. In 1889 he joined Brazil's delegation to the first International American Conference. After the monarchy fell, he pressed for recognition of the republic. His later memoir describes discussions with American delegates Charles Flint, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, and Andrew Carnegie, followed by a meeting with Secretary of State James Blaine in January 1890. ^{1, 2}

As minister, Mendonça exchanged the notes establishing the 1891 commercial reciprocity arrangement with Blaine. Brazil offered free entry for specified American goods, including flour, coal, and agricultural machinery, and reduced duties on others; the arrangement was to take effect on 1 April. It was vulnerable to changes in American tariff policy. In September 1894, after a new United States tariff law, Mendonça formally notified Washington that Brazil would terminate the arrangement on 1 January 1895. ^{3, 4, 5}

During the naval revolt of 1893, Mendonça opposed American recognition of the insurgents as belligerents. His Washington career ended amid disagreement over a proposed transfer to Lisbon in 1898. He later returned to writing, dictating work after losing his sight. A founding member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, he died in Rio de Janeiro in 1913. ¹