The Empire of Brazil occurred between 1822 and 1889, it began at the end of the Brazilian War of Independence, which separated the kingdom from Brazil. In this period of the history of Brazil it had 3 rulers which were Juan VI, Pedro I and Pedro II.
Background of the Empire of Brazil
Until the beginning of the 19th century, Brazil was a prosperous colony of Portugal. But in 1808, as a result of the invasion of that country by Napoleon's troops , as also happened with Spain, the Prince Regent Don Pedro, the future Juan VI, did not want to remain in his homeland subject to the power of those French invaders, but instead embarked for the colony of Brazil, accompanied by an entourage, that is, from his court of 15,000 people, taking up residence in the capital, Rio de Janeiro.
The presence of the young Regent in the Colony was received with great sympathy and appreciation, due precisely to the liberality of his character and fundamentally to his progressive entrepreneurial spirit, concerned, always, in carrying out important works for the benefit of the community. village.
But after spending twelve years in the Colony he was called in 1821 to assume the Crown of Portugal. Although he did not want to leave his new homeland, he had to embark for the peninsula, leaving his son, Prince Don Pedro, as Regent of Brazil.
Government of Juan VI
Don Juan, Prince Regent until 1816, the date of the death of his mother, the Mad Queen , he inherited the crown, being proclaimed Emperor of Brazil, Portugal and the Agarves , with the name of John VI. His reign lasted until 1821, the year in which he returned to Portugal.
His main works of him
As Regent first and finally as Emperor, Don Juan accomplished important works:
- He declared the ports of Brazil open to foreign trade.
- He fostered industry and commerce.
- he erected Brazil as a Kingdom, with equal rights to those of the Motherland.
- He protected and greatly promoted the development of culture, through the following:Foundation of the Academy of Sciences, the School of Fine Arts, the Botanical Garden, as well as a Great Public Library, museums, laboratories, fairs, etc.
- he built docks and piers, while creating commercial banks, also decreeing the freedom of industries.
All these economic measures contributed to transform the economic and cultural conditions of Brazil, with the characteristics of a true sovereign nation.
Government of Pedro I
The Regent Don Pedro ruled in Brazil, when the Portuguese Courts tried to intervene again in the government and the administration of the Colony; this meant a clear attempt to reduce Brazil back to Portugal's possession. Such attitude originated, then, a reaction and insurrection of the patriots and of the main cities headed precisely by the Regent Don Pedro himself, who on the banks of the Ipiranga River, proclaimed the Independence of Brazil through his famous proclamation:Independence or death! (Cry of Ipiranga), September 7, 1822, later being crowned emperor , with the title of Pedro I; being officially proclaimed as Constitutional Emperor on October 12, 1822. He played a leading role in the struggle for the independence of Brazil the illustrious and eminent patriot Don José Bonifacio de Andrada consecrated as the patriarch of independence .
Characteristics of the government of Pedro I
- It was not a progressive government like that of his father, King Charles VI.
- Because of his liberal ideas, at first, he became unpopular, because of his personality and his exaggerated zeal of authority, later. I will do everything for the people, but nothing with the people , he exclaimed.
- For having experienced a series of defeats in the war waged with Argentina, and, finally, before having had to recognize the independence of Uruguay, and that it had previously been incorporated into Brazil.
- For having dissolved the Constituent Assembly, and, likewise, for having persecuted illustrious politicians such as Andrada and others.
Such anti-liberal measures had created for Pedro I a climate of discontent and opposition led by prominent liberals; like the illustrious speaker Vasconcelos, the journalist Evaristo Da Vega. Until, in April 1831, a popular riot broke out in Rio de Janeiro, which forced Pedro I to abdicate the crown in favor of his youngest son, the future Dom Pedro II.
Government of Pedro II
Proclaimed Emperor of Brazil, Pedro II ruled from 1840 to 1889. A monarch with an entrepreneurial and progressive spirit like his grandfather, Don Juan VI, he carried out very important works that created a time of development and prosperity for Brazil:standing out among its main works, the following:
- He made Brazil a Constitutional Monarchy, with full respect for civil liberties and rights, based on a Parliamentary Government, that is, a Legislative Body made up of representatives elected by the people.
- He called prominent politicians and other men of great stature for their preparation and honesty as government advisers, such as Pedro de Araujo, Paulino de Souza, the Viscount of Río Branco and General Caxias, one of the heroes of the war of the Paraguay, and Brazil thus became a crowned Republic and not an Empire .
- He decreed the emancipation of black slaves, while promoting European immigration, to compensate for the lack of those freed laborers.
- he Modernized the exploitation of the sugar wealth, by introducing the most advanced machinery, as well as the most efficient cultivation techniques; likewise, he decreed free navigation in the Amazon River for all ships in the world, thus contributing to a greater development of its fluvial zones; Similarly, the exploitation of rubber intensified.
- he Introduced the telephone, recently invented, created the Pasteur Institute to combat hydrophobia; at the same time he also had modern astronomical observatories and prisons built, as well as numerous railway lines.
Despite the great works that Pedro II carried out, after his long reign, a veteran of the Paraguayan war, Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, led the Revolution of 1889, the same one that triumphantly ignored the sovereign, Pedro II. This offered no resistance, then embarking for Portugal. By the Constitution of 1891, Brazil was established as a Federative Democratic Republic, with the name of Confederation of the United States of Brazil, made up of 21 states and a federal capital, the city of Rio de Janeiro. An immensely rich country, Brazil would experience tremendous development in the 20th century.