Joaquim Rodrigues Torres, Viscount of Itaboraí

Joaquim Rodrigues Torres, the Viscount of Itaboraí (13 December 1802 – 8 January 1872) was a Brazilian politician and monarchist during the period of the Empire of Brazil (1822–1889). He was the country's Prime Minister from 1868 to 1870.

His Excellency

Joaquim Rodrigues Torres, Viscount of Itaboraí
President of the Council of Ministers
of the Empire of Brazil
In office
16 July 1868 – 29 September 1870
MonarchPedro II
Preceded byZacarias de Góis e Vasconcelos
Succeeded byViscount of São Vicente
Personal details
Born(1802-12-13)December 13, 1802
Itaboraí, Rio de Janeiro Province, Colonial Brazil
Died8 January 1872(1872-01-08) (aged 69)
Neutral Municipality, Empire of Brazil
Political partyConservative Party
Alma materUniversity of Coimbra
OccupationPolitician, journalist, teacher

Biography

Born in 1802 to Manuel José Rodrigues Torres and Emerenciana Matilde Torres, he received his basic education in Rio de Janeiro and later travelled to Portugal, where he graduated in mathematics at the University of Coimbra in 1825. Upon returning to Brazil the following year, he was hired as a surrogate teacher at the Royal Military Academy. He returned to Europe in 1827, improved his education in Paris until 1829, and then returned to Brazil, where he worked as a teacher until 1833.

As a member of the Liberal Party, Torres founded the Independente, a short-lived newspaper. In 16 July 1831, he became a minister of the Brazilian Navy.

Torres was a general deputy at the 3rd legislature for Rio de Janeiro and the first president of the Rio de Janeiro Province, a post under which, among other things, he established the province's capital at Vila Real da Praia Grande (renamed Niterói the following year) and created the Police Guard (present-day Military Police of Rio de Janeiro). In 1837, he shifted to the Conservative Party.

Throughout his life, he held several other posts, including Minister of Economy, State advisor, senator from 1844 to 1872, and two-time president of the Bank of Brazil.

He was appointed a Viscount on 11 December 1854. He opposed the Rio Branco Law before its promulgation.


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