How did Brazil become independent from Portugal?
In the first decade of the 19th century, Europe was in turmoil. France’s attempt to dominate Europe met with English resistance, and, as consequence, Napoleon tried to prevent other countries from trading with England. Claiming neutrality, Portugal continued to honor previous trade treaties with England. But France and Spain signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1807 and agreed to divide Portugal between them. Soon after that , Napoleon ordered an invasion of Portugal. Before Napoleon s troops could reach Portugal, Queen Maria I and her son, Prince Joo VI (see picture above) left the country and sailed to Brazil. They arrived in January 1808, and remained until 1821. Napoleon’s dominance of Portugal had ended in 1815, but Joao VI chose to stay in Rio de Janeiro, even after the death of his mother in 1816. In 1821, however, he yielded to political pressures from Portugal, and returned to Lisbon, leaving Pedro, the Crown Prince, in Rio as “Regent Viceroy “. The presence of the royal fami
