Brazil declares independence from Portugal
- Date
- 7 September 1822
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- South America (Brazil)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
On 7 September 1822, beside the Ipiranga brook near São Paulo, Prince Regent Pedro of Braganza proclaimed Brazil's independence from Portugal in the episode remembered as the Grito do Ipiranga ("Cry of Ipiranga").
Having refused Lisbon's demands that he return and that Brazil revert to subordinate colonial status, Pedro was acclaimed Emperor Pedro I and crowned on 1 December 1822, creating the Empire of Brazil. Unlike the Spanish American colonies, which fragmented into many republics after prolonged warfare, Brazil achieved independence with relatively little bloodshed and preserved its territorial unity under a constitutional monarchy. Portugal formally recognised the new empire through the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro in 1825. Brazilian independence created by far the largest and most populous state in Latin America, one that retained a monarchical form of government until 1889 and, controversially, maintained slavery for decades longer than its neighbours. The peaceful transfer of sovereignty within the Braganza dynasty gave Brazil a distinctive path through the age of American independence.
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Empires active in 7 September 1822
- Russian Empire1721 CE – 1917 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Qing Dynasty1636 CE – 1912 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Mughal Empire1526 CE – 1857 CE
Related politics & governance events
- Congress of Vienna and the Concert of EuropeSeptember 1814 – June 1815
- The Slavery Abolition Act ends slavery across the British Empire28 August 1833 (in force 1 August 1834)
- Britain abolishes the transatlantic slave trade25 March 1807
- The Revolutions of 1848 (the Springtime of Peoples)1848–1849
- Commodore Perry forces the opening of Japan1853–1854 (Treaty of Kanagawa, 31 March 1854)
- Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the birth of the British Raj1857–1858 (rebellion); Government of India Act 2 August 1858
Further reading
The wider story
Empire of the Summer Moon
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