I'm reading a book about the proclamation of the Brazilian Republic(Old) and one certain chapter it talks about Pedro II, who he was and his escapades and travels, One section that interested me was him ''leading'' the judges of the centennial exposition toward Alexander Graham Bell's invention, (since he'd gotten a bad spot which otherwise wouldn't have been judged upon.This being because the Emperor had previously met Alexander.)

Was this event an important step toward the adoption of the telephone, had others seen this machine at work before?

If this is TOO much of a ''what if'' type of question, tell me and i'll remove it. Otherwise, thanks for reading and(Hopefully)answering!