page_title: Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of Inhaúma
section_title: Illness and death
hierarchical_section_title: Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of Inhaúma / Paraguayan War / Illness and death
caption_attribution_description: English: A rare picture of the Viscount of Inhaúma dressing the uniform of Admiral, the highest rank in imperial Brazil.
context_page_description: Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of Inhaúma, was a naval officer, politician and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. He was born in the Kingdom of Portugal, and his family moved to Brazil two years later. After Brazilian independence in 1822, Inhaúma enlisted in the Brazilian navy. Early in his career during the latter half of the 1820s, he participated in the subduing of secessionist rebellions: first the Confederation of the Equator, and then the Cisplatine War, which precipitated a long international armed conflict with the United Provinces of the River Plate.
  Throughout the chaos that characterized the years when Emperor Dom Pedro II was a minor, Inhaúma remained loyal to the government. He helped quell a military mutiny in 1831 and was involved in suppressing some of the other rebellions that erupted during that troubled period. He saw action in the Sabinada between 1837 and 1838, followed by the Ragamuffin War from 1840 until 1844. In 1849, after spending two years in Great Britain, Inhaúma was given command of the fleet that was instrumental in subduing the Praieira revolt, the last rebellion in imperial Brazil.
context_section_description: Unknown to Inhaúma and only a few days before the fall of Humaitá, the Progressive cabinet in Rio de Janeiro had resigned following a political crisis. The Emperor called the Conservatives, under the leadership of Joaquim Rodrigues Torres, Viscount of Itaboraí, back into power on 16 July 1868. During the Progressive administration, Inhaúma had developed a trusting friendship with the able, young Navy Minister Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo (later Viscount of Ouro Preto). The return of the Conservatives resulted in Inhaúma's election to the Chamber of Deputies as a representative for the province of Amazonas, although he would never assume office. In the new political climate, Inhaúma was also considered a contender for a senatorial chair representing the province of Rio de Janeiro.
  Meanwhile, Caxias had organized an assault on the new Paraguayan defenses which López had thrown up along the Pikysyry, south of Asunción (Paraguay's capital). This stream afforded a strong defensive position which was anchored by the Paraguay River and by the swampy jungle of the Chaco region. Caxias had a road cut through the supposedly impenetrable Chaco, located on the other side of the Paraguayan River where the Allied army was camped. The Brazilian ships carried the Allied troops across the river, where they moved over the road which had been finished in December. The Allied forces outflanked the Paraguayan lines and attacked from the rear. The combined allied forces annihilated the Paraguayan army and on 1 January 1869 Asunción was occupied.
  Inhaúma reached the Paraguayan national capital on 3 January 1869, increasingly sick and depressed. He lamented in his private journal that the conflict "cannot be called a war but a killing of people, extermination of the Paraguayan nation". Inhaúma temporarily transferred his command to his son-in-law, the Baron of Passagem, on 16 January. On 28 January, Inhaúma was officially discharged from that post and promoted to admiral, the highest rank in the armada. Having received permission from the Conservative cabinet to depart, he left for Rio de Janeiro on 8 February, arriving ten days later. Although welcomed "with the greatest demonstrations of enthusiasm", Inhaúma was so weak that he had to be carried from the docks to his carriage. Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay, Viscount of Taunay in his memoirs said that Pedro II, upon learning of Inhaúma's arrival, refused to pay a visit to him. It had become common for officers to claim sickness so that they could withdraw from the war. The Emperor soon realized that Inhaúma was indeed very ill and asked for daily updates on his condition.
  Inhaúma's health steadily deteriorated, and he died on 8 March at around 04:30 in the morning. According to historian Eugênio Vilhena de Morais, malaria was the cause of death. His coffin was placed in a carriage reserved for the funerals of members of the imperial family. It was escorted by three cavalry squadrons and followed by three hundred carriages, while onlookers crowded both sides of the streets along the procession's route. Tamandaré and the future Viscount of Ouro Preto were among the pallbearers. He was buried in the São Francisco Xavier cemetery (popularly known as Caju Cemetery) in Rio de Janeiro.
caption: Inhaúma at the age of 60, 1869. He did not survive long after his promotion to admiral, the highest rank in the Brazilian armada
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