In November 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte – not having maritime control – decided to apply a “continental blockade” to Great Britain, its main enemyclosing the ports that were under their control to British ships and products.
In this way sought to defeat the English in their economyinterrupting the circulation of their products and attacking their customers.
Let us remember that, in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain needed to expand its external markets at all costs. Reluctantly and For fear of reprisals, most European countries seemed to acquiesce to the Napoleonic impositionwith the exception of Portugal, which, due to having very firm commercial ties with the English, believed itself safe from a French attack.
The Portuguese prince regent, Juan de Braganza, refused to join the continental blockade.
John was the son of Peter III and Mary I, kings of Portugal since 1777. Upon Peter’s death in 1786, Mary continued to reign in her own right, until she was declared insane in 1792. John became prince regent.
Upon the death of his mother, In 1816, he was crowned John VI of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve.
In 1785, in one of the many European dynastic alliances, Juan had been married to Carlota Joaquina de Borbón, daughter of Charles IV of Spain, when she was 10 years old. Charlotte and the prince regent lived separately and could not stand each other.
When Juan became seriously ill, his “beloved” wife tried to declare him as insane as his mother to become the regent of Portugal. But Juan escaped the illness and never forgave his wife for those “special cares.” Since then he kept her as far away as possible from the affairs of the kingdom.
Juan did not give in to Napoleon’s blockade and after issuing him an ultimatum and agreeing with Spain on the passage of his armies, In October 1807, France began operations to invade Portugal.
John VI of Portugal and Princess Charlotte of Spain. / ArchiveA large leak
French troops entered Lisbon on November 30, 1807. Shortly before, the Portuguese royal family, which included Regent John’s wife, Princess Charlotte of Spain, He had fled to Rio de Janeiro, under the advice and protection of the English navy.
They were accompanied by some 15,000 people, their ministers, bishops and priests, officials, advisors and intriguers.plus a list of courtiers and a large servant.
Say the historian João Manuel Pereira da Silva in his History of the founding of the Brazilian Empire (s/e, Río de Janeiro, 1870):
“One of the greatest shames in Portuguese history was accomplished. The series of humiliations to which the government of the Prince Regent subjected us ended with this cowardly escape and this abandonment of Portugal without organization or defense.”
Don Juan and his more than multitudinous entourage arrived at the beautiful and exotic city of Bahia on January 22, 1808, where They were received with cheers to the “Emperor of South America”which was more than just an exaggerated display of courtesy.
Soon, the prince regent sent notification of his arrival to the Spanish colonial authorities, in a striking and worrying gesture for them. After a brief stay in the Northeast, perhaps acclimatizing to the tropical air, The Portuguese court continued its journey to Rio de Janeirowhere he settled in March of that same year.
In the capital of Brazil, converted into the seat of the crown and the Portuguese empire, the British would establish a trading emporium that would allow them to take revenge for the successive defeats suffered in the Río de la Plata.
But The court of Rio de Janeiro would also be the center of political intrigue throughout the region. and from 1810, a permanent threat to the patriotic governments established in Buenos Aires.
