ABSTRACT
This paper analyzes the trajectory of Luís Pedreira do Couto Ferraz, viscount of Bom Retiro, a high-ranking government official of the Second Reign, who is still seldom mentioned in the historiography, despite his participation in politics and the administration for more than 40 years. Couto Ferraz was president of two provinces, representative in several legislatures, minister in the Cabinet of Conciliation, senator and member of the State Council, besides being a director in several institutions. His role as a friend and confident of Pedro II is emphasized in the paper, which proposes that his discretion sought at the same time the preservation of the monarch, and the assurance of his own proximity to and influence in power, often in indirect and scarcely perceptible ways.
Keywords:
Brazil; Second Reign; Biographical Trajectory; Luís Pedreira do Couto Ferraz; viscount of Bom Retiro.