Republic of Colombia
Statement by President Bartolomé Calvo, in the Plaza de Bolívar
Today, South America weeps and the flags of every country fly at half mast. A great man has abandoned his earthly existence to join the rightful lGod in Heaven, as his actions have shown.
I didn't meet Dom Pedro personally; great things I have been told about him, from the ministers that have met with him, however I never had the great pleasure to hold a meeting or a conversation of a man who would dominate the furious nature of the deep jungles of Brazil, and who would turn it to the benefit of his people. However, from the nature of his actions I can only tell that he was a colossus among our small patch of land. He stood tall, resisted to the end and extended a hand to those in times of need; who would be able to forget the heroic actions of the Brazilian government as they ferried refugees across the Atlantic and the Caribbean to provide them with safety and a warm welcome, both characteristic of our neighbors; it was him, as well, who fought against the vile institution of slavery that held the liberties of man back, of his God-given rights to enjoy and develop according to the tenants of the Bible.
Or the many times that the Brazilian government went at great lengths to help its allies in both combat and peace; through development and through the upholding of treaties. Who could say Dom Pedro desired anything BUT peace? Maybe some can, however they will be quickly proven wrong by every country in this continent, by the members of the Council of Rio; Dom Pedro took a stand for decency on the direst moments of our recent years! Was he not the one who called for peace, and ignored many times he was too? Perhaps we should've listened to his advice, the wise advice that is natural to come out of the mind of a man of such knowledge. Oh, how many of us wish to reach that level of clarity and a peaceful nature nurtured by the careful movements a ruler must plan ahead. And we, neighbors of different nations but sons of a single mother, South America the great, aided mutually. The Brazilian government aided us in our time of need, on our perils. Would some of us be standing in this very place, if not for the cooperation recieved? I do not believe so.
Tonight, Empress Isabel stands at the wheel of a nation well handled by her father. And it has been left in good hands. This is a new age for Brazil, and South America as a whole. A Golden Age handled by the careful and precise of a woman who, as her father, has the audacity, the tenacity and the diplomatic skill to keep the Empire united and ever-growing, following the final act of her father of sending men into the unknown, to transform it into an enviroment worthy of man. May God bless Empress Isabela, may God bless Brazil and Colombia and may God bless South America. Thank you.
