"Independence or Death!" from Pedro Américo, 1888

The Brazilian Declaration of Independence comprised a series of political events occurred in 1821-1825, most of which involved disputes between colonial Brazil and Portugal regarding the call for independence presented by the colony. Although the conflict was not completely bloodless, it was much less violent than the wars for independence fought in Latin America. Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1821 (MDCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1825 (MDCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The term War of Independence is generally used to describe a war occurring over a territory that has declared independence. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ...

Beginning of independence movement

For a while colonial Brazil was seat of King João VI and his government, after they fled from Napoleon's army during the Napoleonic wars in 1808. The eruption of the Liberal Revolution of 1820 started in Porto, led the Royal family to return to Portugal in 1821, leaving only a portion of the Brazilian delegates present on the government. The Government, then, voted to abolish the Kingdom of Brazil and the royal agencies in Rio de Janeiro and to make all the provinces subordinate directly to Lisbon. Portugal sent troops to Brazil and placed all Brazilian units under Portuguese command. In January 1822, tension between Portuguese troops and the Luso-Brazilians (Brazilian-born citizens of Portugal) turned violent when Brazilian regent-prince Pedro accepted petitions from Brazilian towns begging him to refuse the Portuguese order to return to Lisbon. John VI, King of Portugal (13 May 1767 – 26 March 1826) KG KGF (Portuguese João, pron. ... Napoléon I, Emperor of the French (born Napoleone di Buonaparte, changed his name to Napoléon Bonaparte)[1] (15 August 1769; Ajaccio, Corsica – 5 May 1821; Saint Helena) was a general during the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from... Combatants Austria[a] Portugal Prussia[a] Russia[b] Sicily[c] Sardinia  Spain[d]  Sweden[e] United Kingdom French Empire Holland[f] Italy Etruria[g] Naples[h] Duchy of Warsaw[i] Confederation of the Rhine[j] Bavaria Saxony Westphalia Württemberg Denmark-Norway[k] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack... The Liberal Revolution of 1820 (Revolução Liberal) was a political revolution that erupted in 1820, unchained via a military insurrection in the city of Porto, northern Portugal, that spread to the rest of the country. ... Oporto redirects here. ... Year 1821 (MDCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about the Brazilian city. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil (pron. ...

Responding to their pressure and to the argument that his departure and the dismantling of the central government would trigger separatist movements, he vowed to stay. The Portuguese "lead feet", as the Brazilians called the troops, rioted before concentrating their forces on Cerro Castello, which was soon surrounded by thousands of armed Brazilians. Dom Pedro "dismissed" the Portuguese commanding general and ordered him to remove his soldiers across the bay to Niteroi. Pedro formed a new government headed by José Bonifácio de Andrade e Silva of São Paulo. This former royal official and professor of science at the University of Coimbra was crucial to the subsequent direction of events and is regarded as one of the formative figures of Brazilian nationalism, indeed, as the patriarch of independence. José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva (June 13, 1763 – April 6, 1838), Brazilian statesman and naturalist, was born at Santos, São Paulo. ... The University of Coimbra (Portuguese: Universidade de Coimbra) is a Portuguese public university in Coimbra, Portugal. ...

The atmosphere was so charged that Dom Pedro sought assurances of asylum on a British ship in case he lost the looming confrontation; he also sent his family to safety out of the city. In the following days, the Portuguese commander delayed embarcation, hoping that expected reinforcements would arrive. However, the reinforcements that arrived off Rio de Janeiro on March 5, 1822, were not allowed to land. Instead, they were given supplies for the voyage back to Portugal. This round had been won without bloodshed. This article is about the day. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Beginning of violent insurgency

Blood had been shed in Recife in the Province of Pernambuco, when the Portuguese garrison there had been forced to depart in November 1821. In mid-February 1822, Bahians revolted against the Portuguese forces there but were driven into the countryside, where they began guerrilla operations, signaling that the struggle in the north would not be without loss of life and property. To secure Minas Gerais and São Paulo, where there were no Portuguese troops but where there were doubts about independence, Don Pedro engaged in some royal populism. Nickname: Motto: Ut luceat omnibus Latin: That it may shine on all (Matthew 5:15) Location in Brazil Country Region State Pernambuco Founded March 12, 1537 Incorporated (as village) 1709 Incorporated (as city) 1823 Government  - Mayor João Paulo Lima e Silva (PT) Area  - City 218 km² (84. ... Capital (and largest city) Recife Demonym Pernambucano Government  -  Governor Eduardo Campos  -  Vice Governor João Lyra Neto Area  -  Total 98. ... Guerrilla redirects here. ... Capital (and largest city) Belo Horizonte Demonym Mineiro Government  -  Governor Aécio Neves  -  Vice Governor Antônio Augusto Junho Anastasia Area  -  Total 588,528. ... This article is about the city. ...

Towns in Minas Gerais had expressed their loyalty at the time of Pedro's vow to remain, save for the junta in Ouro Preto, the provincial capital. Pedro realized that unless Minas Gerais were solidly with him, he would be unable to broaden his authority to other provinces. With only a few companions and no ceremony or pomp, Pedro plunged into Minas Gerais on horseback in late March 1822, receiving enthusiastic welcomes and allegiances everywhere. Back in Rio de Janeiro on May 13, he proclaimed himself the "perpetual defender of Brazil" and shortly thereafter called a Constituent Assembly (Assembléia Constituinte) for the next year. To deepen his base of support, he joined the freemasons, who, led by José Bonifácio Andrada e Silva, were pressing for parliamentary government and independence. More confident, in early August he called on the Brazilian deputies in Lisbon to return, decreed that Portuguese forces in Brazil should be treated as enemies, and issued a manifesto to "friendly nations". View of Ouro Preto Vila Rica do Ouro Preto, a city in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of its outstanding Baroque architecture. ... A constituent assembly is a body elected with the purpose of drafting, and in some cases, adopting a constitution. ... José Bonifácio Andrada e Silva was a Brazilian activist and freemason; during the 19th century, he was notable for pushing for political reforms. ...

Proclamation of Independence

Seeking to duplicate his triumph in Minas Gerais, Pedro rode to São Paulo in August to assure himself of support there and began a disastrous affair with Domitila de Castro that would later weaken his government. Returning from an excursion to Santos, Pedro received messages from his wife and from Andrada e Silva that the Côrtes considered his government traitorous and was dispatching more troops. In a famous scene at the shore of the Ipiranga river on September 7, 1822, he had to choose between returning to Portugal in disgrace or opting for independence. He tore the Portuguese blue and white insignia from his uniform, drew his sword, and swore: "By my blood, by my honour, and by God: I will make Brazil free."^{[citation needed]} Their motto, he said, would be "Independência ou Morte!" ("Independence or Death!").^{[citation needed]} Paulista Museum, in Ipiranga district, crowded in the celebration of the Brazilian Independence Day Ipiranga is a historical borough located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, composed by the districts of Ipiranga, Cursino and Sacomã. The name Ipiranga comes from the river of the same name located in... is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

British and French contribution

Pedro's government employed foreign mercenaries like Admiral Thomas Alexander Cochrane, one of Britain's most successful naval commanders in the Napoleonic Wars and recently commander of the Chilean naval forces against Spain. Pedro's government also hired a number of Admiral Cochrane's officers and French General Pierre Labatut, who had fought in Colombia. These men were to lead the fight to drive the Portuguese out of Bahia, Maranhão, and Pará, and to force those areas to replace Lisbon's rule with that of Rio de Janeiro. Money from customs at Rio de Janeiro's port and local donations outfitted the army and the nine-vessel fleet. The use of foreign mercenaries brought needed military skills. The much-feared Cochrane secured Maranhão with a single warship, despite the Portuguese military's attempt to disrupt the economics and society with a scorched-earth campaign and with promises of freedom for the slaves. By mid-1823 the contending forces numbered between 10,000 and 20,000 Portuguese, some of whom were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, versus 200,755 to 200,935 Brazilians^{[citation needed]}, mostly in militia units from the Northeast. Mercenary (disambiguation). ... Thomas Alexander Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, GCB (14 December 1775 – 31 October 1860), styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831[1] , was a politician and naval adventurer. ... Capital (and largest city) Salvador Demonym Baiano Government  -  Governor Jacques Wagner  -  Vice Governor Edmundo Pereira Santos Area  -  Total 564. ... Maranhão is one of the states of Brazil in the north-eastern region. ... Capital (and largest city) Belém Demonym Paraense Government  -  Governor Ana Júlia Carepa  -  Vice Governor Odair Santos Corrêa Area  -  Total 1. ...

International recognition

Some historians have erred in supporting historian Manuel de Oliveira Lima's contention that independence came without bloodshed. In fact, although both sides avoided massive set battles, they did engage in guerrilla tactics, demonstrations, and countermoves^{[citation needed]}. There is little information on casualties, but the fighting provided a female martyr in Mother Joana Angélica, who was bayoneted to death by Portuguese troops invading her convent in Bahia.

Britain and Portugal recognized Brazilian independence by signing a treaty on August 29, 1825. Until then, the Brazilians feared that Portugal would resume its attack. Portuguese retribution, however, came in a financial form. Secret codicils of the treaty with Portugal required that Brazil assume payment of 1.4 million pounds sterling owed to Britain and indemnify Dom João VI and other Portuguese for losses totaling 600,000 pounds sterling. Brazil also renounced future annexation of Portuguese African colonies, and in a side treaty with Britain, promised to end the slave trade. Neither of these measures pleased the Brazilian slave-holding planters, and slavery in Brazil would continue for several decades after independence. is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1825 (MDCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... John VI, King of Portugal (13 May 1767 – 26 March 1826) KG KGF (Portuguese João, pron. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The history of slavery covers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures and throughout human history. ...

See also

• History of Brazil
• Colonial Brazil
• Brazilian Empire