Portrain of Viscount of Rio Branco

The Viscount of Rio Branco was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) in 1871 and was the president who more time held the position of leader of the council. His government was marked by a time of economic prosperity and the adoption of a number of necessary reforms. The most important of his initiatives was the Free Womb Law (28.09.1871), which stated that children born to slave women from that date, would be free.