History
In 1808, Portugal's Royal Family had sought refuge in Brazil during the Napoleonic wars. On June 10, 1808, Dom João VI declared war on France and sent 470 soldiers to French Guiana to bring support to the Royal Navy.
On January 12, 1809, these troops had conquered the Cayenne, capturing Guiana`s governor. The Portuguese maintained a presence in Guiana until 1817.
In 1815, Brazil's status was elevated to The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. The Portuguese troops in Brazil, some of which had already been previously stationed there, all united under the direct command of the Brazilian Ministry of War, now known as the Cayenne Battery.
Read more about this topic: Cayenne Battery
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“What is most interesting and valuable in it, however, is not the materials for the history of Pontiac, or Braddock, or the Northwest, which it furnishes; not the annals of the country, but the natural facts, or perennials, which are ever without date. When out of history the truth shall be extracted, it will have shed its dates like withered leaves.”
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“History is the present. That’s why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth.”
—E.L. (Edgar Lawrence)