Floriano Peixoto, Brazil's “Iron Marshall”: A Re-Evaluation
Both the career and personality of Floriano Peixoto, Brazil's socalled “Iron Marshal,” have long been subjects of controversy and conflicting appraisal. In command of the nation from 1891 to 1894, Floriano proved a strong ruler whom few contemporaries regarded.with dispassion or disinterest. During his life time and for some years afterwards, Floriano Peixoto remained the focus of fierce emotions, until the actual man and his achievements were lost in a haze of adulation, condemnation, and facile stereotyping.