A história de Pedro de Alcantara Brazileiro de Saisset

Meu primeiro contato com a história de Pedro de Alcantara Brazileiro de Saisset foi por acaso. Em 2018, estava em San Jose, na Califórnia, folheando aqueles impressos que os hotéis deixam para os hóspedes descobrirem o que a cidade e os arredores oferecem.  Entre os museus, notei o de Saisset, dedicado ao artista local Ernest de Saisset, e resolvi ler um pouco mais sobre aquele pintor de retratos, paisagens e nu artístico, antes de conferir as suas obras. Foi então que cheguei ao nome do pai dele. Desde então, passei a ler sobre Pedro de Saisset e notei que tínhamos, no Brasil, muito pouco publicado sobre este filho de D. Pedro I.

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O Museu Imperial, em Petrópolis, guarda diversas cartas a respeito de Pedro. Nesses documentos, porém, ele não é percebido como um ser humano, mas como um problema a ser administrado pelos representantes do imperador. Percorrendo os sebos, também encontrei livros do século XIX e primeira metade do XX, que oferecem alguns bons registros históricos, mas que igualmente despem Pedro de sua humanidade e tratam-no como um embaraço ou produto de um golpe articulado contra D. Pedro I. Levando em conta o período desses escritos, essa interpretação dos fatos pode ser considerada até normal e esperada, mas 19 décadas se passaram desde o nascimento de Pedro. Os tempos agora são outros e achei que essa história precisava ser recontada, com o devido respeito a cada um que fez parte dela.

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Por esse motivo, voltei aonde tudo começou. Em Santa Clara e San Jose, onde ele morou por mais de meio século, descobri um Pedro dedicado à família, exigente na educação dos filhos, mas que, ao mesmo tempo, fazia muitas brincadeiras com eles, e conseguia valorizar e estimular os traços individuais de cada um. Como imigrante, representou a sua comunidade desde as primeiras ondas de imigração, até tornar-se cônsul da França, função que desempenhou por mais de três décadas.

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Como empresário, soube posicionar-se em uma sociedade multicultural, identificar as particularidades e necessidades locais e, assim, desenvolver um negócio muito bem-sucedido. Na segunda metade do século XIX, ele atuava no ramo de seguros, fazia transporte de bens e commodities, comprava, vendia e alugava terras agrícolas, criava equipamentos e obtinha a aprovação de patentes, até que se tornou presidente da companhia de eletricidade de San Jose. Enfim, Pedro abriu o seu caminho nesse mundo!

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Em 1865 ele até tenta um contato com o irmão, D. Pedro II, e cogita mudar-se para o Brasil. Mas, rejeitado pela família imperial brasileira, dedica todos os seus esforços a construir uma vida na Califórnia. Por decepção ou racionalidade, há um momento em que ele enterra de vez esse vínculo. Possivelmente, Pedro concluiu que associar-se ao pai biológico poderia trazer-lhe mais perdas do que ganhos. Afinal, na linguagem da época, ele era um bastardo. A partir daí, passa a existir somente o imigrante europeu, filho de uma proeminente família francesa, os de Saisset.

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A vida de Pedro é repleta de aventuras e momentos emocionantes. E o objetivo desse blog é justamente contá-la. O que você lerá aqui, não está nos livros de História. Com o apoio da historiadora norte-americana Charlene Duval e da pesquisadora francesa Marie-Thérèse Meissel, vou relatar a saga de Pedro e de sua família ao longo de 120 anos ou enquanto houver história para contar.
 

Muito obrigada pela sua visita e por compartilhar essa jornada!

 

Tina Evaristo é jornalista

 

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Why Pedro de Alcantara Brazileiro

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There is very little material published about him and in these documents and books available, mostly produced until the 1940s, Pedro is stripped of his humanity and treated as a problem to be managed. Times are different now, and 193 years after his birth, his story needs to be retold, with due respect to everyone who was part of it.

My first contact with the story of Pedro de Alcantara Brazileiro de Saisset was by chance. In 2018, I was in San Jose, California, flipping through those printouts that hotels leave for guests to discover what the city and surroundings have to offer. Among the museums, I noticed the de Saisset, dedicated to the local artist Ernest de Saisset, and decided to read a little more about that painter of portraits, landscapes and artistic nudes, before checking out his works. It was then that I came to the name of his father: Pedro de Saisset. I started immediately reading everything I could about him and noticed that in Brazil there is very little published about this biological son of D. Pedro I.

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The Imperial Museum, in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, keeps several letters regarding Pedro. In these documents, however, he is not perceived as a human being, but rather as a problem to be managed by the emperor's representatives. Books published in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century offer good historical records on his story, but they also strip Pedro of his humanity and treat him as an embarrassment or product of an articulated coup against D. Pedro I. Taking into account the period of these writings, this interpretation of the facts can even be considered normal and expected. However, nineteen decades have passed since Pedro's birth.
 

Times are different and I thought this story needed to be retold, with due respect to everyone who was part of it.

For that reason, I returned to where it all started. In Santa Clara and San Jose, where he lived for more than half a century, I discovered a Pedro dedicated to his family, demanding on the education of his children, but who, at the same time, played a lot of games with them, and managed to value and stimulate their individual traits. As an immigrant, he represented his French community from the first waves of immigration, culminating in his appointment as Vice Consul of France, a role he held for more than three decades.

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As an entrepreneur, he knew how to position himself in a multicultural society, identifying the particularities and local needs and, thus, developing a very successful business. In the second half of the 19th century, he initially was transporting goods and commodities, then in the insurance business and buying, selling and renting his wife’s rancho property. He also designed equipment and obtained patent approvals, built and acquired business buildings, and became president of Brush Electric Company, owner of San Jose’s famous Electric Tower, which was powered from a generator on Pedro’s property.

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In 1865, he tried to make contact with Brazil’s second emperor, his half-brother, D. Pedro II, and even considered moving to Brazil. But, rejected by the Brazilian Imperial family, he dedicated all his efforts to building a life in California. Out of deception or rationality, there was a moment when he buried that bond once and for all. Possibly, Pedro concluded that associating himself with his biological father could bring him more losses than gains. After all, in the language of the time, he was a bastard. From then on, there was only the European immigrant, son of a prominent French family, the de Saisset.

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Pedro's life was full of adventures and exciting moments. And the purpose of this blog is to precisely tell it. What you will read here cannot be found in history books. With the support of the American historian, Charlene Duval, and the French researcher, Marie-Thérèse Meissel, I intend to recount the saga of Pedro and his family over 120 years or as long as there is a story to be told.

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Thank you so much for your visit and for sharing this journey!
 

Tina Evaristo is a journalist