1807-1822 Regency
1831-1840







Brazil an Empire, 1822-1831



Independence : Im April 1821, Dom Joao departed for Portugal, leaving behind as regent his son, Dom Pedro. As regent, Dom Pedro implemented a number of decisions without consulting the government in Portugal. In Brazil, there were three factions - a radical faction desiring independence and republic, a moderate faction desiring the peaceful accomplishment of autonomy or, if necessary, independence, and regiments of the Portuguese army loyal to Portugal.
When the General Cortes in Portugal convened in 1821, it turned out to be hostile to the Brazilian delegates; the Cortes aimed at undoing a number of reforms which had been implemented by the royal administration while it resided in Rio de Janeiro. Moderate politician Jose Bonifacio de Andrade de Silva now was convinced that there was no alternative to independence; Dom Pedro approved of the idea of a constitutional monarchy. Dom Pedro went on a charm offensive and visited Minas Gerais and won over many in the heartland of the radicals (Sept. 1822). Also in Sept. 1822, Brazilian inependence was proclaimed.

Constitution - Establishment of an Empire : On Dec. 1st 1822, Dom Pedro was crowned Emperor of Brazil. In May 1823 elections were held for a constituent and legislative assembly; yet Dom Pedro informed them that he planned to approve their decisions only if he felt like it; his policies caused the Andrade ministry to resign.
Instead of signing the constitution the assembly had deliberated, Dom Pedro granted his own version of a constitution to the nation (1824), based on the French constitution of 1816. Roman Catholicism was official religion, other faiths tolerated; suffrage limited, civil rights guaranteed. The Emperor reserved his right to appoint provincial presidents, bishops. The constitution was to remain valid until 1889.

Foreign Policy : In 1811 Brazil became entangled in the struggle for Uruguayan independence; Brazil annexed Uruguay in 1821, but the Brazilians were defeated in the Battle of Itazuingo in 1827, a battle which established Uruguayan independence.
Most important were relations with Portugal. Portugal and Braazil pursued a confrontation course since 1821; the garrisons loyal to Portugal had ben ousted in a naval campaign in 1823-1824; the European Powers favoured a negotiated solution of the problem. Canning (Britain) and Metternich (Austria) mediated. In 1825 Dom Pedro signed a treaty with Portugal, in which the latter recognized Brazilian independence, while Brazil agreed to take over part of Portugal's national debt and pay for the royal palaces etc. in Rio de Janeiro. This act was greeted with consternation and outrage in Brazil, when it became public.
In 1826, King Dom Joao of Portugal died. The opportunity presented itself for Dom Pedro to succeed his father and establish a dynastic union of both nations; the Portuguese would desire their king to reside in Lisbon, the Brazilians in Rio. Realizing that a move to Lisbon would risk his throne in Brazil, Dom Pedro decided to pass on the opportunity and to stay in Brazil.
Once diplomatic relations were established with Portugal, other countries followed suit. Britain, the world's leading industrial nation and merchant power, and Brazil signed a trade treaty in 1827; Brazil and France had concluded one in 1826. Brazil depended on the goodwill of German and Italian states for the shipments of immigrants the country desired. Diplomatic relations with the U.S. had been established in 1824.

Domestic Policy; Liberal Opposition : Dom Pedro achieved the independence from Portugal which public opinion in Brazil had craved for; however he disappointed hopes and expectations regarding a constitutional monarchy in which parliament and the cabinet were to rule. Dom Pedro's actions - him signing a treaty with Portugal containing stipulations such as Brazil taking on Portugal's debt to England, as well as his adulterous relation with Domitila de Castro, alienated many.
In 1824, Pernambuco, Paraiba, Rio Grande do Norte and Ceara seceded from Brazil, creating the Confederation of Equador, which established a provisorical republican administration. Shortly after, it was subdued by the Brazilian navy, commanded by Thomas Cochrane.
The war with Argentina over Uruguay was unpopular in Brazil; matters such as the revolt of Irish and German mercenaries, who had been badly treated further increased the opposition to Dom Pedro's government. When Revolution erupted in France, in 1830, many Brazilians sympathized with the revolutionaries. Dom Pedro again undertook a charm offensive into the heartland of the opposition, Minas Gerais (1831). However, he was met with a cool reception. Meanwhile the situation in Rio de Janeiro became critical. Believing the situation to be out of control and a revolution to be imminent, Dom Pedro abdicated and returned to Portugal (1831).

Demography : In the 1820es, the Brazilian administration encouraged immigration, from Germany, Italy and other countries. Dom Pedro corresponded with German princes, offering to take theirv entire prison population (as in the case of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), indicating how desperate the desire for immigrants was. As the immigrants had to travel by sailboat, the passage was lengthy, risky and uncomfortable. Many of the immigrants settled in Brazil's south, were the climate was less tropical.
A good number of existing settlements were granted the status of cities.

The Economy : The administration of Brazil was constantly in financial difficulties; having taken on financial obligations in the treaty with Portugal did not help; the war with Argentina over Uruguay was costly, so was the Imperial household.
In the 1820es, coffee plantation was introduced to Sao Paulo Province.





EXTERNAL
FILES 		Für Dom Pedro. Export aus Europas Armenhäusern und Gefängnissen (For Dom Pedro; Export from Europe's Poorhouses and Prisons), from Kriegsreisende.de, in German
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE Boris Fausto, A Concise History of Brazil, Cambridge Concise Histories, 1999
Donald E. Worcester, Brazil, from Colony to World Power, NY : Scribner 1973
Maria Graham, Journal of a Voyage to Brazil and Residence There during Parts of the Years 1821, 1822, 1823 (1824) posted by Gutenberg Library Online



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on October 28th 2007

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