Thought that you might be interested in the last two paragraphs. The company my husband worked for was,out there, called Western Telegraph ( from mid 1800's to 1970's)and whilst the Company British ex-pats, would have been mainly trained in wireless telegraphy , in other fields artisans would certainly have plenty of work.Mining ,Railroads and coach building( bus and railway carriages as well as horse drawn)
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"Dom Pedro II 1840-1889. After ten years of the regency, from 1831 to 1840, Dom Pedro II at fifteen years of age was proclaimed as the constitutional emperor of Brazil. The regent was unable to control the turmoil and, as a result rebellions went on from 1835 to 1845 in provinces such as Para, Bahía, Maranhao, Río Grande do Sul and Río de Janeiro.
There were three significant political parties in Brazil. The Restoration Party wanted to bring the Portuguese back into power in Brazil. The Moderate Party, since it stood for the rural upper class, favored the preservation of the status quo by supporting a strong monarchy. The Exalted Party advocated to replace the monarchy with a federal republic. The military and other elements with their divisive activities created a great deal of disorder and carried out rebellions to undermine the authority of the regent. These turbulent conditions forced Dom Pedro II to ascend the throne in 1841 at the age of fifteen. His reign lasted till 1889 and it was known as the Golden Age of Brazil. He used the immense powers vested in him by his position, cautiously and was able to create peaceful conditions which contrasted with those prevailing in post-colonial Spanish America. He enforced the parliamentary system in the true sense. Political power alternated between the Liberals and the Conservatives and the ideals of federalism and republicanism took root in this period.
Economic prosperity was brought about by the increase in sugar and cotton exports. In 1850 Brazil abolished the slave trade and encouraged foreign immigration for the purpose of having labor to work on the coffee plantations. Coffee was the major source of income in the 1870s and the 1880s as Brazil was the chief producer and exporter of this crop.
Development of communications and transportation in the form of telegraph and railroads, streetcars and the transatlantic cable connection between Brazil and Western Europe took place during the reign of Pedro II. "
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