In 1807, when French forces attempted to invade Portugal, the Portuguese royal family and their court fled to Brazil. João VI, the former prince regent, ruled from Rio de Janeiro as head of the government in exile. In 1821, he returned to Portugal, leaving his son Pedro I to rule Brazil. When the Portuguese Cortes ordered Pedro I to return to Europe, he refused, and on September 7, 1822, he declared Brazil independent of Portugal. With the assistance of Thomas Cochrane, he defeated Portugal’s military forces.           

Pedro I wrote a constitution for Brazil that while providing for independent legislative and judiciary branches, preserved the bulk of political power for the emperor in his role as “moderator” between the other branches of government. Following the July Revolution in France in 1830, Brazilians called for the autocratic Pedro I to abdicate his throne, which he did in favor of his son Pedro II in April 1831.            

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/8-4-portuguese-south-america            

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