The Impact of Napoleon on Brazil’s Independence
Role of Napoleon in Independence In 1807, Napoleon ordered the invasion of Portugal, and later the royal family migrated to Brazil. Once there, D. John established the colony as the capital of his empire. By 1821, things had calmed down enough in Europe for D. John to return to Lisbon, leaving his son Dom Pedro I in charge of Brazil. The following year, Portugal sent a letter to Dom Pedro I ordering him to return to Portugal because the court wanted to colonize Brazil, and the presence of Dom Pedro prevented this. He declined to return. Dom Pedro I began to take a series of measures that displeased the Portuguese court, and then he received another letter ordering him to return to Portugal.
Upon receiving the news, he refused to return, took his sword, and declared the country’s independence from Portugal. This would be one of the causes for the declaration of independence of Brazil by Pedro I in 1822, following a liberal revolution in Portugal.
Liberal and Conservative Parties Political disputes between progressives (Feijó) and regressives (Araújo Lima) during the regency resulted later in the formation of the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, which alternated in government during the Second Reign. While the Liberal Party coalesced around the Additional Act, the Conservative Party was organized around the thesis of the need to limit the scope of the liberal Additional Act through an interpretative law. The Regency period began and ended with liberal conservatism. There is an explanation for this fact: the rise of the coffee economy. Around 1830, coffee was no longer a marginal and experimental culture; it became the main export product, surpassing sugar. The main conservative leaders represented the interests of coffee growers. With the formation of these two parties and the rise of the coffee economy, Brazilian political life seemed to finally gain the necessary stability. However, the rules were broken by the Liberals with the coming of age. To understand this, we resume the thread.
The Office of the Majority or the Ministry of the Brothers. Immediately after the coup, a ministry was organized, the first of the majority, dominated by “maioristas,” all linked to the Liberal Party. The new cabinet included the Andrada brothers (Antonio Carlos and Martim Francisco) and the Cavalcanti brothers (future viscounts of Albuquerque and Suassuna), from which the name Ministry of Brothers was derived. Political disputes, however, became bloody due to the rise of the liberals, and rule had become synonymous with the exercise of discretion. Thus, to control the country, the party in government established the routine of appointing provincial presidents to their liking and replacing judicial and police authorities of dubious loyalty. In elections, political leaders unleashed armed gangs on the streets, the government coerced voters, and embezzled the results of the polls. The election of October 13, 1840, which initiated this new (and violent) way of doing politics, became known as the “election of the club,” and gave victory to the liberals. All other elections after that did not escape this rule: they continued to be equally violent.