On September 7, 1822, Prince Pedro declared Brazils independence from Portugal in a dramatic break with both his homeland and his family. Prince Pedro was subsequently proclaimed Emperor Pedro I of Brazil and led Brazil to victory in the Brazilian War of Independence. Brazils independence was the culmination of the development of Brazilian nationhood in the preceding centuries, combined with political instability in Portugal.Brazil as a Portuguese ColonyIndependence or Death, Pedro Amrico, 1888, depicting Prince Pedros declaration of Brazilian independence on September 7, 1822. Source: Google Arts and CultureThe Portuguese colonization of Brazil commenced in April 1500 with the arrival of the Portuguese explorer Pedro lvares Cabral. Over the next few centuries, the Portuguese expanded their colonial possession, including through brutal wars with the Indigenous peoples. By 1800, the Portuguese colony had grown from its initial settlements on the coast to include most of modern-day Brazil and Uruguay.As with most European colonies at the time, colonial Brazils purpose was to generate wealth for the mother country: Portugal. This was accomplished through colonial Brazil supplying Portugal with vital resources including sugar and gold. The Portuguese imported hundreds of thousands of African slaves to Brazil to support the extraction of resources.A chart of gold yield in the Royal Foundries in Minas Gerais Colonial Brazil, between July and September 1767. Source: Brazilian National ArchivesColonial Brazil also served as a market for Portuguese manufactured goods and was prohibited by the Portuguese from trading with other European powers or from developing its own manufacturing industries. These monopolistic restrictions on colonial Brazils economy, combined with taxes imposed by Portugal, were a point of friction between colonial Brazilians and the Portuguese government throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries.Over time, a distinctly Brazilian identity emerged as an ever-increasing portion of the population of the colony was born in Brazil instead of Portugal. Intermarriage between Portuguese and Indigenous peoples furthered the concept of Brazilian cultural identity.By the start of the 19th century, tensions between Portugal and its colony were growing as Brazilians increasingly objected to Portuguese economic domination and developed a greater sense of nationhood.Napoleons Invasion of Portugal: A Royal Family Flees to BrazilEmbarkation of the Royal Family to Brazil, by Nicolas-Louis-Albert Delerive, 19th century. Source: Museo Nacional dos Coches, PortugalIn November 1807 a dramatic change took place in the relationship between Portugal and colonial Brazil when Napoleons forces invaded Portugal. Faced with the imminent occupation of his country, the Prince Regent of Portugal, Dom John, made the bold decision to evacuate the Portuguese government to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Perhaps as many as 10,000 people, including much of the nobility, military officers, government officials, and their families, accompanied the Prince Regent to Brazil.The arrival of the Portuguese royal family in Brazil transformed the colony. The royal familys journey to Brazil had been organized by the British Royal Navy. In return, the Prince Regent was compelled to pass a decree ending the Portuguese monopoly on trade with Brazil and opening Brazils ports to all friendly nations. The Prince Regent also rescinded the colonial restrictions on the development of manufacturing industries. A major economic boom resulted from the repeal of these restrictions and the influx of thousands of educated Portuguese fleeing the French invasion. Moreover, the Prince Regent founded several important cultural and educational institutions during his stay in Rio de Janeiro.A map of Rio de Janeiro in 1820 when it served as the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, by Jacques Arago, 1820. Source: Brazilian National ArchivesWhile there had been growing tensions between colonial Brazil and Portugal prior to 1807, the arrival of the Portuguese royal family and the benefits this brought to the colony led to a surge in popularity for the monarchy. The feeling was mutual, and the Prince Regent had great affection for Brazil. In fact, even though Napoleon had been defeated at Waterloo in 1815, the Prince Regent resisted returning to Portugal and maintained his government in Rio de Janeiro.In December 1815, the Prince Regent sought to recognize Brazils newfound importance as the seat of the Portuguese government and to justify his refusal to return to Lisbon. He elevated Brazil to the status of a kingdom within the newly created United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. This decision meant that Brazil was no longer a colony but a kingdom equal in status to Portugal, albeit under the rule of the Portuguese monarch.The Portuguese Liberal Revolution and the Cry of IpirangaThe Acclamation of King Dom Joo VI of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, by Jean Baptiste Debret, 1834. Source: Biblioteca Mario de Andrade, Sao Paulo, BrazilIn December 1816 the Prince Regents mother, in whose name he had ruled for many years, died and he ascended the throne of the new United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as King John VIand was determined to rule his empire from Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, Portugal was in chaos following the Napoleonic Wars. Much of Portugal was in ruins and the economy was reeling from years of occupation and the exodus of the nobility to Brazil. In the absence of the king, various factions jockeyed for control.In this chaotic situation, the Portuguese government increasingly sought the return of King John VI and the court to Lisbon to provide effective government. The king, who had by this point fully embraced life in Brazil and feared returning to a country that appeared on the brink of civil war, obstinately refused. Matters came to a head in August 1820 when the Liberal Revolution, so-called because the revolutionaries sought the replacement of absolutism with constitutional monarchy, commenced in the Portuguese city of Porto. The revolutionaries quickly gained control of Portugal and summoned a Cortes, a legislative assembly, to draft a new constitution.Session of the Cortes of Lisbon, by Oscar Pereira da Silva, 1922. Source: Museu PaulistaA principal demand of the assembly was the return of King John VI to Portugal. Once Portuguese military units stationed in Brazil began to swear allegiance to the Cortes, King John VI recognized he must return to Portugal or risk being deposed. On April 25, 1821, he reluctantly boarded a ship for Lisbon. However, King John VI declared his son and heir, Prince Dom Pedro, as his regent in the Kingdom of Brazil. Allegedly, before leaving for Lisbon, the king advised Dom Pedro that Brazilian independence was inevitable and that when the moment came, Dom Pedro should seize the crown of Brazil.The Cortes was comparatively liberal in some respects, but it was determined to restore Portugal to the stature it enjoyed prior to the Napoleonic Wars. To accomplish this objective, the Cortes believed it was necessary to restore Portugals domination over Brazil and in September 1821 stripped Brazil of its status as an independent kingdom. The Cortes further indicated its intention to restore Portugals monopoly over trade with Brazil and demanded Dom Pedros return to Portugal.The proclamation of the independence of Brazil, by Franois-Ren Moreaux, 1844. Source: Imperial Museum of BrazilBrazilians reacted with outrage at what was viewed as a betrayal by Portugal and urged Dom Pedro to defy the Cortes and stay in Brazil, which is what Dom Pedro proceeded to do. The Cortes sent soldiers to Brazil to try to restore order. In response, throughout 1821 and 1822, Brazilian militias organized and a tense standoff developed.On September 7, 1822, Dom Pedro received news that the Cortes had deprived him of his powers as regent and issued a final order for him to return to Portugal. Dom Pedro and the supporters of Brazilian independence recognized that the moment had come. In what became known as the Cry of Ipiranga, because it took place on the banks of Ipiranga brook, Dom Pedro, surrounded by his personal guard, proclaimed Brazils independence from Portugal.The Brazilian War of IndependencePedro I, by Edoardo De Martino, early 20th century. Source: Naval Museum of BrazilDom Pedro was declared Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil, on October 12, 1822, by Brazils constituent assembly. However, Pedro I was not able to claim control over the entirety of the former colony. At the time of independence, his control of Brazil was limited to Rio de Janeiro and a few other population centers. Many of the coastal cities remained garrisoned by Portuguese military forces and the Cortes was determined to reassert Portuguese control over Brazil. The stage was set for the Brazilian War of Independence.Pedro Is first task was to force the surrender of the Portuguese garrisons still in Brazil. While Pedro I possessed a significant number of enthusiastic militiamen, these soldiers were poorly armed and lacked the training necessary to conduct siege operations against Portuguese fortresses. Time was of the essence because if the cities under Portuguese control were not swiftly captured, they could serve as a base of operations for reinforcements sent from Portugal.Battle of 4 May 1823, by Trajano Augusto de Carvalho, 1938. Source: Navy of BrazilThe Brazilians had managed to capture a significant number of Portuguese naval vessels upon the declaration of independence, including a 74-gun ship of the line swiftly renamed Pedro I. In addition, the Brazilians recruited the legendary British sailor Lord Thomas Cochrane to serve as the commander of their fledgling navy. On May 4, 1823, Lord Cochrane achieved a strategic victory over the Portuguese fleet off the coast of Salvador, thus compelling the Portuguese forces in that city to surrender to the besieging Brazilian army. The Portuguese fleet was scattered, and Lord Cochrane chased it back across the Atlantic, capturing several ships in the process.Lord Cochrane proceeded to use his fleet to blockade the remaining Portuguese garrisons until they were compelled to surrender. In Mach 1824, the last significant Portuguese force surrendered after being besieged in Montevideo for over a year, which marked the end of Portuguese efforts to resist Brazilian independence by force.Brazilian Independence Secured: The Treaty of Rio de JaneiroThe First Page of the 1824 Constitution of the Empire of Brazil, March 25, 1824. Source: National Archives of BrazilIn March 1824, the same month that the Portuguese army at Montevideo surrendered to the Brazilians, the constituent assembly called by Pedro I enacted the new constitution of the Empire of Brazil. The Brazilian constitution granted significant, but not absolute, powers to the emperor. The emperors powers were limited by a robust legislative assembly and the granting of certain powers to regional assemblies. The constitution of 1824 was generally supported by Brazilians at the time and would remain intact, with few modifications, until Pedro Is son, Pedro II, was overthrown in the coup detat of 1889.Meanwhile, the surrender of its army at Montevideo forced Portugal to accept that it would never recover Brazil by military force. Portugal was still recovering from the Napoleonic Wars, King John VI was not enthusiastic about waging war on his son and Brazil, and Portuguese liberals and conservatives were on the brink of civil war.Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil by HenriGrevedon, 1830. Source: Brasiliana IconogrficaIn this climate, Portugal agreed to recognize Brazilian independence in August 1825 through the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro.The Treaty of Rio de Janeiro was a curious document. For example, even though Brazil had won a decisive military victory over Portugal, the treaty stipulated that Brazil would pay reparations to Portugal for losses suffered by Portuguese citizens. This clause was viewed as humiliating by many Brazilians and led to allegations that Pedro I remained too close to Portugal. In reality, Pedro I had been compelled to accept this clause to achieve Portuguese recognition of Brazilian independence, which was itself necessary before other European powers would recognize Brazil.The perception that Pedro I remained too close to Portugal was aided by the fact that the treaty did not resolve the odd situation that while Pedro I was recognized as Emperor of Brazil, he remained King John VIs heir. It was therefore reasonably possible that Portugal and Brazil would be unified again under a single monarch, which did in fact happen, albeit briefly, in 1826.Nonetheless, while the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro presaged future problems for Pedro I and the Empire of Brazil, it secured Brazilian independence by formally ending hostilities with Portugal and leading to international recognition of Brazil as an independent state.