History of The Empire of Brazil

History Of The Empire Of Brazil

The land now known as Brazil was claimed by the Portuguese for the first time on 23 April 1500 when the Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral landed on its coast. Permanent settlement by the Portuguese followed in 1534, and for the next 300 years they slowly expanded into the territory to the west until they had established nearly all of the frontiers which constitute modern Brazil's borders. In 1808 the army of French Emperor Napoleon I invaded Portugal, forcing the Portuguese royal family into exile. They established themselves in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, which thus became the unofficial seat of the entire Portuguese Empire. On 12 December 1815 Dom João VI, then regent on behalf of his incapacitated mother, Queen Dona Maria I, elevated Brazil from colony to Kingdom united with Portugal.

In 1820 the Constitutionalist Revolution erupted in Portugal. The movement, initiated by liberals, resulted in a meeting of the Cortes (English: Courts, a Constituent Assembly) which had as its goal to draft the kingdom’s first constitution. The liberals demanded the return of João VI, who had been residing in Brazil since 1808 and who had succeeded his mother as King in 1816. He named his son and heir Prince Dom Pedro (later Pedro I of Brazil and Pedro IV of Portugal) as regent and departed for Europe on 26 April 1821. The Portuguese Cortes enacted decrees which subordinated the Brazilian provincial governments directly to Portugal, abolished all superior courts and administrative bodies created within Brazil since 1808 and recalled Prince Pedro to Portugal.

Two groups emerged, both of which feared that the Cortes was attempting to return Brazil to the status of a mere colony: the Luso-Brazilians (then called Constitutional Monarchists) and the Nativists (then called Federalists). Members of both were mainly Brazilian-born gentry, landowners, farmers and rich business men, with a minority who were immigrants from Portugal. The Luso-Brazilians were men who graduated in the University of Coimbra in Portugal before 1816 and were led by José Bonifácio de Andrada. They called for a constitutional and centralized monarchy to prevent the possibility of provincial secessionism. A few, such as Bonifácio, had further goals which included abolishing the slave trade and slavery itself, instituting land reform, and economic development of the country free of foreign loans. The Nativists, men without a higher education who had lived their entire lives in Brazil, desired exactly the opposite. They opposed the end of slavery, wanted a democracy in which only they were enfranchised, preservation of the existing social hierarchy, a monarch who would be a mere figurehead, and a weak federal organization in which the provinces would be ruled by the local interests without interference from the central government.

Both groups convinced the Prince not to return to Portugal, and he replied on 9 January 1822: "Since it is for the good of all and the general happiness of the Nation, I am willing. Tell the people that I am staying." He appointed José Bonifácio, leader of the Luso-Brazilians, as head of the Cabinet on 18 January 1822. Pedro traveled to São Paulo province to secure its loyalty to the Brazilian cause, but he received a letter from Bonifácio as he was returning to Rio de Janeiro on 7 September. The prince learned that the Cortes had annulled the remaining powers he had retained. Pedro turned to his companions, who included his Guard of Honor and said: "Friends, the Portuguese Cortes wants to enslave and pursue us. From today onward our relations are broken. No ties unites us any longer". Pulling off his blue and white armband which symbolized Portugal, he continued: "Armbands off, soldiers. Hail to independence, to freedom and to the separation of Brazil". In a moment which would become the most iconic in Brazilian history, he unsheathed his sword and affirmed that "For my blood, my honor, my God, I swear to give Brazil freedom", and then cried out: "Independence or death!"

Pedro's decision to defy the Cortes was met with armed opposition across Brazil by troops loyal to Portugal. The ensuing Brazilian War of Independence spread throughout most of the country, with battles fought in the northern, northeastern, and southern regions. The last Portuguese soldiers surrendered on 8 March 1824, and independence was recognized by Portugal on 29 August 1825. In addition to those Brazilians and Portuguese who fought in the war, much of the credit for this victory is credited to Bonifácio's cabinet. It created an army and a navy practically out of nothing, greatly improved government finances, and unified the provinces under a single, cohesive leadership.

On 12 October 1822 Prince Pedro was acclaimed Dom Pedro I, Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil. It was concurrently the beginning of Pedro's reign and the birth of the independent Empire of Brazil. He was later crowned on 1 December. Meanwhile, Bonifácio initiated a judicial inquiry (which would become known as the "Bonifácia") against the Nativists, who were accused of conspiracy against the monarchy. Many were arrested.