The coming of the royal family It was an event that began on November 29, 1807, and its landing in Brazilian lands took place on January 22, 1808, in the city of Salvador. The arrival was a direct consequence of the Napoleonic Period and the existing disagreement between France and Portugal on the issue of the Continental Blockade.
With that, the Portuguese royal family moved to Brazil and settled there. in Rio de Janeiro, next to the entire government structure of Portugal. This started the Johannine Period and resulted in a series of transformations, such as the opening of Brazilian ports, which contributed to take Brazil in the direction of its independence process.
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Napoleonic period
The arrival of the royal family to Brazil is a direct consequence of the Napoleonic period, more specifically, in the dispute between France and England . This contest between the two nations had been ongoing since the French Revolution and intensified when Napoleon Bonaparte assumed power in France through the 18th Brumaire Coup in 1799.
The beginning of the French Revolution called into question the existence of absolutist monarchies, and thus these countries united against France, leading to a series of conflicts at the end of the 18th century. With the possession of Napoleon, the wars continued, but now because France had decided to dominate the entire European continent.
Thus, the rivalry between France and England intensified because the English were the great obstacle for Napoleon in his project to dominate the continent. This impasse was reflected throughout Europe, and Portugal did not escape it. The internal disputes between the supporters of France and England increased to the point of interference in the Portuguese government.
The Portuguese government, however, sought, since the time of the French Revolution, to maintain a position neutral so as not to displease the two nations. The situation worsened for him when the French and Spanish approached, which made relations between Portugal and Spain tense.
With the rapprochement between Spain and France, a series of demands were made to Portugal, and, as they were not accepted, a small conflict between this country and Spain was fought in 1801, being known as War of the Oranges . Portugal lost the city of Olivença to the Spaniards for good. With that, d. João, regent of Portugal, decided to reinforce the defenses in the border regions in order to avoid further losses.
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Why did the royal family come to Brazil?
The arrival of the Portuguese royal family to Brazil was a unfolding of the crisis between Portugal and France due to the latter's dispute with England. Since the defeat of the Portuguese in the War of the Oranges in 1801, diplomatic relations between Portugal and France were delicate . The French pressured the Portuguese to cut diplomatic relations with England.
This was manifested for the first time shortly after being defeated in the War of the Oranges, since the French, allies of the Spanish, demanded in the surrender the acceptance of the closing of the Portuguese ports for English vessels . The requirement was accepted, but was never actually applied by the Portuguese.
In 1806, the French had failed to defeat the British and had failed to invade their territory, protected by the powerful English navy. Therefore, as a way to weaken England, Napoleon Bonaparte decided to impose the Continental Blockade. With this measure, European nations were prohibited from receiving English vessels and from sending theirs to English ports.
Already at that moment, the Portuguese began to consider the possibility of moving to Brazil. This would guarantee the freedom of d. João, since he would be unreachable to Napoleon Bonaparte. The tension in Portugal was evident from the fact that the country did not want to be forced to give up its alliance with England.
Even with the Continental Blockade, the Portuguese continued to receive English vessels, and that is why Napoleon Bonaparte gave a ultimatum them to comply with a series of impositions against England until September 1807. This took weeks of negotiations between the French and Portuguese to resolve the situation, but there was no agreement .
One of the impositions of the French was that Portugal confiscate the goods of the English installed in the country and imprison them. As Portugal refused to accept this and other terms, Napoleon decided to put into practice his promise to do away with the House of Bragança, and so he sent troops to Portugal to occupy the country. The idea was to share Portuguese territory with Spain, an ally of France.
Family comes to Brazil
The decision that determined the transfer of the Portuguese court to the Brazil was issued by the regent of Portugal , d. João, on November 24, 1807. On that occasion, he announced to members of the government that the French could reach Lisbon within four days. This started the preparations to embark, as soon as possible, everything that was necessary so that the Braganças could continue reigning in Brazil.
As the royal family arrived in an emergency situation, preparations were hastily made, and reports tell of the panic that dominated the people during the boarding days, from November 25 to 27, 1807. Historians say that between 10,000 and 15,000 people boarded with the Portuguese royal family.
Therefore, the embarkation of the Portuguese court was an event, since the entire administrative apparatus of Portugal was embarked in three days. Naturally, the degree of disorganization of everything that happened meant that much was left behind. In Portugal, no member of the court that was part of the Bragança line of succession remained, and the territory was left under the responsibility of a governing board .
On November 29, 1807, Portuguese vessels began their journey towards Brazil and, on the high seas, they encountered British warships. These escorted the Portuguese safely to Brazil. At the end of the 29th, the French entered Lisbon.
The route was full of problems. The available resources not enough for the amount of people that were on the ships, so food and water were rationed as much as possible. There was also not enough room for everyone, and the dormitories had to be improvised. The amount of people and hygiene problems resulted in an outbreak from lice , which forced women to shave their hair.
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Royal family in Brazil
The arrival of the Braganças in Brazil took place on January 22, 1808. After 54 days of travel , the Portuguese arrived in Salvador, and there they settled for a few days. Thus began a period in Brazilian history known as the Johannine Period . In Salvador, D. João took a very important measure for Brazil:opening of Brazilian ports to friendly nations.
This measure promoted changes to the Brazilian economy and increased the influence of the British in our country's trade. On March 8, the Portuguese court arrived in Rio de Janeiro, followed by other vessels that had been lost during the voyage. The presence of the royal family here also brought significant transformations that advanced Brazil's path towards independence.
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