History
The first militarized police in Portugal (when Brazil was still a colony) was the Royal Police Guard of Lisbon (Portuguese: Guarda Real de Polícia de Lisboa), established in 1801; which followed by model the National Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie Nationale) of France, created in 1791.
When the Portuguese Royal Family was transferred to Brazil, the Royal Police Guard of Lisbon remained in Portugal, and another equivalent was created in Rio de Janeiro, under the name of Military Division of the Royal Guard Police of Rio de Janeiro, in 1809.
With the abdication of Emperor Pedro I in 1831, the Regency held reformulations on the Brazilian Armed Forces. The Royal Guard Police of Rio de Janeiro was extinct, and replaced by the Municipal Guard Corps of Volunteers; a type of security force similar to the National Guard. The same law allowed each province to establish its own Guard of Volunteers.
In 1834 Pedro I died in Portugal and this reduced the fear in Brazil of a reunification of the kingdoms. The Guard of Volunteers were then transformed into Province Police Corps, with professional troops. The Police Corps were created with the same structure as the Army, and to serve as reserve troops when necessary.
With the Proclamation of the Republic, Brazil adopted a constitution based on the United States' one, where the states have a large autonomy. The Corps of Police began to be administered by the states and became smaller regional armies, with infantry, cavalry, artillery, and later, even with air forces. This dangerous situation to the national security remained until the end of World War II, with the deposition of the dictatorial government of Getúlio Vargas.
After World War II, the Military Police assumed the roles of a more "traditional" police force, similar to a gendarmerie subject to the states. They sought a rapprochement with the civil society, slowly developing the configuration it currently possesses.
Read more about this topic: Military Police (Brazil)
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