Although the Baron of Rio Branco is the most uncontroversial figure in the Brazilian pantheon, approaches of his political thought in the ambit of Social Sciences continue to be marked by paucity or incompleteness. This article suggests a renewed approach to his thought that can integrate his dimensions as historian, politician and diplomat. The Baron's political thought can only be properly understood in the light of his intellectual formation during the Empire, which made him a true guardian of the Saquarema intellectual tradition. From this perspective, Rio Branco's policy ceases to appear the opening of modern Brazilian diplomacy to seem rather the last incarnation of monarchical foreign policy.
Brazilian foreign policy; Baron of Rio Branco; Empire; Republic; Saquaremism; idealism; realism