He became a provincial deputy in 1860, minister of the Brazilian Navy in 1862 and senator of the Empire of Brazil in 1864. Getting involved in abolitionist ideals, because of that he rejected the presidency of the Council of Ministers, offered to him by Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.
He was married to Adelaide Eugênia da Costa Aguiar de Andrada. When she died, he then married Rafaela de Souza Aguiar Gurgel do Amaral, having with her five children: José Bonifácio, Martim Francisco, Narcisa, Maria Flora and Gabriela.
He died in 1886.
Works
José Bonifácio's only work was the poetry book Rosas e Goivos (in English: Roses and Cresses), published in 1848. Its poems oscillate between "Ultra-Romanticism" and "Condorism".