Johann VI. (Portugal)

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King John VI from Portugal and Brazil

Johann VI. (Portuguese: João VI) (born May 13, 1767 in Lisbon ; † March 10, 1826 ibid) was King of Portugal and Brazil from the House of Braganza . He was Prince Regent of Portugal from 1792 to 1816, Prince Regent of Brazil from 1815 to 1816, King of Portugal from 1816 to his death and King of Brazil from 1816 to 1822. In addition, his son Peter I awarded him the title of Emperor of Brazil in 1825 . Johann VI. created the United Kingdom of Portugal and Brazil in 1815 and, uniquely in European colonial history , ruled outside Europe in Rio de Janeiro from 1808 to 1821 .

Early years of life

origin

Johann around 1785

João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael was born on May 13, 1767 during the reign of his maternal grandfather and paternal uncle Joseph I of Portugal . He was the second son, paternal cousin and nephew of the future Queen Maria I , Joseph's daughter (also his sister-in-law), and her husband (also her paternal uncle), the future King Peter III. At the time of John's birth they were Princess of Brazil and Infante of Portugal, respectively.

Johann was ten years old when his grandfather died and his mother ascended to the throne. His childhood and adolescence were quite calm as he was only one child in the shadow of his older brother Joseph , the Prince of Brazil and the 14th Duke of Braganza, the heir to the throne. Johann was a rather uncultivated youngster, but according to Jorge Pedreira e Costa, he received as rigorous an education as his brother Joseph. However, a French ambassador of the time painted him in unfavorable colors and found him to be a hesitant and gloomy boy. But since the records of this period of his life are very sparse, no definitive picture can be drawn of his childhood. Little is known about the content of his training. He was certainly taking lessons in religion, law, French, and court etiquette, and had probably learned history by reading the works of Duarte Nunes de Leão and João de Barros.

Marriage and succession

Johann, Prince of Brazil, Duke of Braganza ( Giuseppe Troni , around 1788)

In 1785 Henrique de Meneses, 3rd Marquis of Louriçal , arranged a marriage between John and the Infanta Charlotte Joachime of Spain , daughter of King Charles IV of Spain and Queen Maria Luisa of Parma . Like her fiancé, Charlotte was a younger member of a royal family. Some feared a new Iberian union and found marriage to a Spanish infanta unfavorable. She had to pass tests by the Portuguese ambassadors for four days before the marriage pact was confirmed. Since Johann and Charlotte were related and because of the young age of the bride (she was only 10 years old at the time), the marriage required a papal dispensation. Once confirmed, the marriage was signed in the throne room of the Spanish court with great pomp and participation from both kingdoms. The marriage took place by proxy and was only carried out five years later.

The Infanta was received in the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa at the beginning of May 1785 , and on June 9 the couple received a wedding ceremony in the castle chapel. At the same time, Johann's sister, Infanta Mariana Victoria , was married to Infante Gabriel, who also came from the Spanish royal family . An eager correspondence between Johann and Mariana at this time shows that the absence of his sister was a great burden for him. In addition, the age difference (Johann was 17 years old) made him uncomfortable and anxious. Because Charlotte was so young, the marriage had not been consummated. In 1793 Charlotte gave birth to the first of nine children: Teresa, Princess of Beira .

At this point in time, Johann's previously relatively quiet life had been turned upside down by the death of his older brother Joseph on September 11, 1788. Now Johann was heir to the throne and Brazilian prince and 15th Duke of Brazil and Braganza. Great hopes had been made of Joseph, who combined himself with the progressive ideas of the Enlightenment. Criticized by the clergy, he seemed to belong to the anti-clerical policy of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo , 1st Marquis of Pombal. Johann, on the other hand, was known for his religiosity and his attachment to absolutism. The succession crisis worsened with the death of Ignacio de São Caetano, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, confessor of the Queen. He was a powerful political figure who had influenced an election of Maria's ministers in favor of Johann. One year after these deaths, Johann became so ill that his own survival was uncertain. He recovered but fell ill again in 1791, "bleeding from his mouth and intestines," as the chaplain of the Marquis of Marialva announced, adding that he was becoming more and more depressed. This created a tense climate and uncertainty about his future reign.

government

Prince Regent

Prince Regent Johannes with a bust of his mother Maria I ( Sequeira , 1802)

Meanwhile the queen showed increasing signs of mental instability and irrational piety. On February 10, 1792, 17 doctors signed a document declaring Mary incapable of administering the kingdom with no prospect of improvement in her condition. Johann was reluctant to take power and rejected the idea of ​​formal regency. This paved the way for members of the nobility to form a de facto government through a council. Rumors circulated that Johann's symptoms of the same madness as his mother's and that he might not be able to rule. According to the old laws, if the regent dies or becomes incapacitated, government should be exercised by the guardian of the bereaved children or, if the guardianship is not officially appointed, by the regent's wife. In Johann's case it would have been Charlotte. Fear, suspicion, and intrigue swept across the nation's institutional framework.

At the same time, rumors of the French Revolution made themselves felt, which caused confusion in the ruling European houses. The execution of the former French king Louis XVI. on January 21, 1793 by the revolutionaries triggered an international reaction. From 1796 onwards, Napoleon in France had emerged increasingly from the turmoil of the revolution as a new strong man. His struggle for supremacy in Europe kept the peoples of the continent in suspense. Portugal found itself in a particularly uncomfortable position, as the country had been a loyal ally of Great Britain, Napoleon's sworn mortal enemy, from ancient times (the oldest Portuguese-English assistance treaty dated from 1373). Since the Methuen Treaty in 1703 at the latest , the country was also economically dependent on trade with Great Britain.

Portugal signed a treaty with Spain on July 15 and allied with Great Britain on September 26. Both treaties committed themselves to mutual aid against revolutionary France and brought Portuguese soldiers into the Pyrenees War (1793–1795), in which 6,000 soldiers participated and failed. There was also a delicate diplomatic problem: Portugal could not make peace with France without violating its alliance with Great Britain. The Portuguese therefore sought a neutrality that turned out to be fragile and tense.

After the defeat, Spain gave up its alliance with Portugal and allied itself with France under the Treaty of Basel . Since Great Britain was too powerful for France to attack directly, the vengeance was now on Portugal. In 1799 Johann officially took over government as Prince Regent on behalf of his widowed mother. In the same year, Napoleon Bonaparte forced Spain to give the Portuguese an ultimatum. Johann should be forced to annul the treaties with Great Britain and submit the country to French interests. With his rejection, neutrality became untenable. Spain and France invaded in 1801 and sparked the Orange War . The defeated Portugal signed the Peace of Badajoz and the subsequent Treaty of Madrid, according to which Spain, in particular the city of Olivenza etc. a. ceded Portuguese territories and made concessions to the French in relation to certain colonial territories. With conflicting interests from all the countries involved, the war was marked by ambiguous movements and secret agreements. Portugal as the weakest player could not avoid an ongoing battle. At the same time, Johann had to face an enemy within his own ranks: his own wife. True to Spanish interests, Charlotte began intrigues to depose her husband and take power. This attempt failed in 1805 and Charlotte was banished from the court and had to live in the Queluz Palace ever since. The regent, on the other hand, resided in the Mafra Palace .

Escape to Brazil

The Prince Regent Johann checks the troops in Azambuja ( Sequeira , 1803)

In 1807 the Treaties of Tilsit between France and Russia and of Fontainebleau between France and Spain were signed, defining the conquest and partition of Portugal. The fate of the kingdom was thus laid down. Desperately trying to save time, John demonstrated voluntary submission to France to the last moment and proposed a fictional war against Great Britain to the English king. The continental blockade ordered by Napoleon was not adhered to in all respects, and a new agreement was secretly signed with Great Britain under which Portugal would receive help in a possible escape with the royal family from Portugal. The deal was extremely beneficial to the English, as they only promised to support a legitimate government that was friendly to them, while maintaining their influence over the country and continuing to make great profits in trade with the Portuguese intercontinental empire. Portugal now had only the choice of obedience to France or Great Britain. Longer hesitation could bring Portugal to war not just with one of these powers, but with both powers. In 1806 Napoleon gave Portugal an ultimatum. Either the country would declare war on the British or France would declare war on Portugal. On October 27, 1807, Spain had to grant the French marching rights in the Treaty of Fontainebleau . In October 1807, Johann received news that a French army was approaching, and on November 16 a British squadron of seven thousand men arrived in the port of Lisbon. They were ordered to escort the royal family to Brazil or, if the French government surrendered, to attack and conquer the Portuguese capital. Due to pressure from both sides (Francophiles and Anglophiles) and after fearful deliberation, Johann decided to accept British protection and flee to Brazil. The invading army, led by Jean-Andoche Junot, made difficult advances and did not reach the gates of Lisbon until November 30, 1807. After encountering various difficulties along the way, this militia was weak and hungry and their uniforms were made of rags. The soldiers, mostly inexperienced newbies, barely managed to carry their weapons. Alan Manchester described it with the words: "With no cavalry, artillery, cartridges, shoes or food, the force served to evacuate a hospital rather than an army marching triumphantly to conquer a kingdom." But it succeeded because the government was not aware of the enemy's situation. At this point in time, the Prince Regent, accompanied by the entire royal family and a large number of nobles, state officials and servants, had already embarked. In addition to bulky luggage that contained a valuable art collection, the state archive and the royal treasury, he traveled to Brazil and left the country under the reign with the recommendation that the army should not mess with the intruder. The idea of ​​moving the seat of government to America as a geopolitical act had been around for a long time in Portugal and some preparations had already been made. At the time, however, the escape had to be quick, in the rain that turned the streets into a swamp and caused a great commotion in Lisbon, with a stunned and revolutionized population who couldn't believe their prince would leave them. Through the confusion they forgot countless suitcases and belongings, huge amounts of silver confiscated and cast by the French from the churches and the precious collection of 60,000 volumes in the royal library. The latter was saved and was later transferred to Brazil. According to the report by José Acúrsio das Neves, the departure of the Prince Regent aroused deep emotions:

He wanted to speak, but he couldn't; he wanted to move but couldn't take a step; he walked over an abyss and imagined a dark and uncertain future, like the ocean in which he wanted to go. Home, capital, kingdom, vassals, everything would suddenly disappear with little hope of coming back or seeing it again, and everything was like thorns piercing his heart.

The embarkation of John VI. and the royal family (1810)

To explain himself to the people, Johann ordered posters to be put up on the streets saying that despite all efforts to ensure the integrity and peace of the kingdom, his departure was inevitable. On posters he ordered everyone to behave calmly and properly and not to oppose the intruders so that unnecessary blood would not be shed. Due to the rush to leave, the Prince Regent Johann traveled on the same ship with his mother Queen Maria, Prince Peter (Prince of Beira; later Peter I of Brazil and Peter IV of Portugal) and the Infanta Michael (later Michael I of Portugal) . A careless decision, taking into account the risk of a transatlantic voyage at the time, as the succession of the crown was at risk in the event of a shipwreck. However, Charlotte and the Infantas were on two other ships. The number of people who sailed with Johann on board is still controversial. In the 19th century there was talk of up to 30,000 emigrants, more recent estimates fluctuate between 500 and 15,000, the latter being near the maximum capacity of the squadron of fifteen ships including their crews. Even so, the ships were overcrowded. According to Pedreira e Costa, taking all variables into account, the most likely numbers are between 4,000 and 7,000 passengers plus crews. Many families were separated and even senior officials were unable to secure a place on the ships and were left behind. The trip was uneasy. Several ships were in a precarious condition and the overcrowding created humiliating conditions for the nobility, most of whom had to sleep outside on the poop deck . The sanitary conditions were poor, including an epidemic of head lice. Many had not brought a change of clothes. Several people got sick. Supplies were scarce and rationed. In addition, the fleet made little headway in the equatorial zone under scorching heat for ten days. The mood on board deteriorated noticeably. After passing through a dense fog that interrupted visual contact between the ships, the fleet got into a violent storm that severely damaged some ships and finally dispersed them on the heights of Madeira Island. The prince then changed his plans and, on his command, the group of ships that were still accompanying them went to Salvador de Bahia for political reasons to greet the inhabitants of the first capital of the colony, as there were many signs of discontent at the loss of theirs old status'. The ships carrying his wife and infantry continued to their original destination in Rio de Janeiro.

Colonial transformation

Decree on the opening of ports, National Library of Brazil

On January 22, 1808, the ship with the regent and other ships docked in the bay of Todos los Santos in Brazil. The streets of Salvador were deserted because the governor, the Count of Ponte, preferred to wait for the prince's order before allowing the people to receive it. Johann found this attitude strange and ordered everyone to come as they please. However, in order to allow the needle to collect himself after such a difficult journey, landing a procession, the ringing of bells and a celebration of was postponed to the next day, so she amid joyful Te Deum in the Cathedral of Salvador received are could. In the days that followed, the prince received all who wished to pay homage to him and granted the ceremony of beija-mão (kissing the hand of the monarch) and various graces. Among the latter, he enacted the creation of a public lecture series on economics and a school of surgery, but his most important measure at the moment was the decree opening the ports to friendly nations (decree opening the ports to the nações), it was an act of enormous political and economic importance and the first of many to help improve conditions in the colony. However, Britain, whose economy depended heavily on maritime trade and to which the Portuguese and Brazilian monarchies were now some protectorate, was the most direct beneficiary.

Allegory of the arrival of John in Brazil

In Salvador de Bahia there were celebrations for a month in honor of the presence of the court. They also tried to persuade Johann that Salvador should become the new capital of the kingdom. He was even promised the construction of a luxurious palace for the royal family. But Johann refused and continued his journey after he had already announced his intention to various nations to build his capital in Rio de Janeiro. His ship entered Guanabara Bay on March 7 , where he met the Infantas and other members of his retinue whose ships had arrived earlier. Finally, on the 8th, the entire court disembarked to meet a city that welcomed them with nine days of uninterrupted festivities. A well-known chronicler of the time, Father Perereca, eyewitness of the arrival, lamented the news of the invasion of the Portuguese metropolis and pointed out the importance of the arrival of the court on Brazilian soil:

If the motives of grief and suffering were so great, it was no less the reasons for comfort and pleasure: a new order of things would begin in this part of the southern hemisphere. The Brazilian Empire was already planned, and we sighed eagerly for the mighty hand of the Prince Regent, our Lord, to lay the foundation for the future greatness, prosperity and power of the new kingdom.

Johann listens to Father José Maurício ( Henrique Bernardelli )

With the court came high-ranking civil, religious and military officials, aristocrats and liberal professionals, skilled craftsmen and civil servants. For many scholars, the transfer of the court to Rio marked the beginning of the establishment of the modern Brazilian state and the first step in Brazil towards independence. Although Brazil remained formally and legally a Portuguese colony at the time, to use the words of Caio Prado Jr. to describe it

the army established the headquarters of the monarchy in Brazil and ipso facto abolished the regime of the colony in which the country had lived until then. All the features of this regime disappeared and the only thing left was the continued existence of a foreign government. The old gears of colonial administration were one by one abolished and replaced with others more typical of a sovereign nation. Economic restrictions fell and the country's interests came to the fore in government policy.

Before that, however, accommodation had to be provided for the newcomers, which was difficult to solve in view of the cramped conditions in the then city of Rio. For the nobility in particular, there were few noble houses, especially for the royal family, who were housed in the Viceregal Palace, now known as the Paço Imperial (Imperial Palace). A large mansion, which however offered no comfort and was not comparable to Portuguese palaces. As big as it was, it wasn't enough to accommodate everyone. Therefore, neighboring buildings such as the Carmelite monastery, the town hall and even the prison were also used. In order to satisfy the needs of other nobles and to set up new government offices, innumerable small residences were hastily expropriated and their owners sometimes forcibly evicted. Despite the efforts of Viceroy Marcos de Noronha e Brito and Joaquim José de Azevedo, the regent was still poorly housed. The merchant Elias Antônio Lopes offered his country house, the Quinta da Boa Vista , a magnificent villa in an excellent location, which immediately aroused the prince's satisfaction. Renovations and extensions turned it into the Paço de São Cristóvão ("Palace of Saint Christopher"). For her part, Charlotte Joachime preferred to settle on a farm near Botafogo Beach and continued the habit of living apart from her husband.

Largo do Carmo (now Praça XV de Novembro in Rio) a few years after the arrival of the court

The city, which at the time had a population of around 70,000, was changed overnight. The additional population brought new demands, forcing a new organization for the supply of food and other consumer goods, including luxury goods. It took the Portuguese years to settle in, resulting in years of chaos in daily Rio life. Rents doubled, taxes rose, and food was scarce, confiscated from the nobility. This soon dispelled the enthusiasm of the population over the arrival of the Prince Regent. The shape of the city changed with the construction of countless new homes, villas and other buildings and various improvements in services and infrastructure. Likewise, the presence of the court created new standards of etiquette, new fashions and customs, including a new social stratification.

Among the customs, Johann continued in Brazil the ancient Portuguese ceremony of the Beija-mão, which he held in high esteem and which fascinated the Brazilians and became part of their folklore. He received his subjects every day with the exception of Sundays and public holidays. These waited in large rows in which nobles and citizens mingled to show the monarch their respect and to ask for favors. The painter Henry L'Evêque said that “the prince, accompanied by a secretary of state, a servant and a few officers, took all inquiries put to him; listened attentively to all complaints; consoled some and encouraged others ... The vulgarity of manners, the familiarity of the language, the insistence of some, the word of others, nothing makes him angry. "

The ceremony of the Beija-mão (kissing the hand) at the Brazilian court of John while maintaining the custom of the Portuguese monarchs.

During his stay in Brazil, Johann created a variety of institutions and public institutions and promoted the economy, culture and other areas of national life. All of these measures served the need to manage a great empire in an area where these institutions were previously lacking. In fact, the prevailing assumption was that Brazil would remain a colony and that the Court would soon return to Lisbon once the political situation in Europe normalized. However, these advances became the basis for Brazil's future autonomy.

However, this does not mean that everything was progressive at the time. A series of political crises began shortly after his arrival with the invasion of French Guiana in 1809 in retaliation for the French invasion of Portugal. Serious economic problems arose and a painful trade agreement imposed by the British in 1810, which flooded the small domestic market with useless items, damaging the creation of new industries in the country. National debt increased twenty-fold, corruption was rampant, and the court was flamboyant and wasteful. The British consul James Henderson stated that few European courts are as large as Portugal's. Laurentino Gomes writes that in his first eight years in Brazil, Johannes bestowed more hereditary titles than in the 300 years of the Portuguese monarchy before, not counting the more than 5000 insignia and awards.

The French tried three times to occupy the country. The first invasion of Junot 1807-1808 was initially successful, until a British expeditionary corps of 13,000 men under the command of the British General Arthur Wellesley , later Viscount Wellington , landed on August 1, 1808 in Portugal. The British quickly succeeded in inflicting a series of defeats on the French (the battles of Roliça on August 17, 1808 and Vimeiro on August 21, 1808). General Junot and his men had to withdraw from Portugal, but in the Treaty of Sintra the British granted them free travel. In 1809 the French tried again - this time it was Marshal Soult who marched into Portugal from Galicia . The Anglo-Portuguese troops were initially under the command of William Carr Beresford , later again under the command of Wellesley, who, on hearing of the new invasion, had returned to Portugal in April 1809. With the victory of Talavera de la Reina over the French (July 27/28, 1809), the second invasion ended.

Napoleonic war

Portugal was heavily indebted and its trade dependence on the United Kingdom grew during the war. Since 1810, Great Britain also had the right to trade directly with Brazil, bypassing Portugal. Portugal became a de facto Brazilian colony and British protectorate ; power in the country was in the hands of the British commander, William Carr Beresford .

In August 1810 the French tried for the third time. This time Marshals Masséna , Ney and Junot occupied the province of Beira . Wellesley defeated them on September 27, 1810 at the Battle of Busaco , near Coimbra . The British and Portuguese had used the time to build a fortified line of defense at Torres Vedras , north of Lisbon . The French invasion was halted on this line and the French suffered heavy losses. After the defeat of Sabugal (April 3, 1811), they had to withdraw from Portugal for good. The country was thus liberated. Officially, however, the war only ended with the French defeat at the Battle of Toulouse in 1814.

When Napoleon was defeated in 1815, the European powers held the Congress of Vienna to reorganize the political map of the continent. Portugal took part in these negotiations. In order to consolidate relations between the metropolis and the colony, they proposed raising the status of a colony under unification with the Kingdom of Portugal. The English representative also agreed to the idea that led to the establishment of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve on December 16, 1815, a legal institution quickly recognized by other nations.

Accession to the throne

Way to domination

Johann VI. dressed as a king ( Jean-Baptiste Debret )

Queen Maria, died on March 20, 1816, paving the way for her son Johann to ascend to the throne. Although he began to reign as king that day, he was not immediately consecrated as king. His coronation was not celebrated with great festivities until February 6, 1818. Several political questions have now come to the fore. The ambitious Queen Charlotte Joachime had already begun plotting against Portuguese interests in Europe, and shortly after arriving in Brazil she negotiated with both Spaniards and with nationalists from the Río de la Plata (now Argentina and Uruguay ). Their goal was to create a kingdom under their and Spanish power, which should emerge after Johann's abdication. Thus it was not possible for her to have a sensible marriage with her husband and to live with him. Nevertheless, in order to keep up appearances, she appeared in public with Johann. Although Charlotte attracted a lot of sympathy, all of her plans failed. Despite everything, she got her husband to become more directly involved in Spanish colonial politics, which ended with the capture of Montevideo in 1817 and the annexation of the province of Cisplatin in 1821.

At the same time, the problem of marrying Peter , the Crown Prince, arose . For Europe, Brazil was too distant, backward and insecure country that it was not an easy task to find suitable candidates. After a year of searching, the ambassador, the Marquis de Marialva , formed an alliance with one of the most powerful ruling houses in Europe, the Habsburgs, the emperors of Austria. He had seduced the Austrian court with numerous lies through a lush display of splendor and he distributed gold and diamond bars among the nobility. In 1817 Peter married the Austrian Archduchess Maria Leopoldine , the daughter of Emperor Franz I. The Emperor and his Minister Metternich regarded the alliance as an "advantageous pact between Europe and the New World" that strengthened the monarchical regime in both hemispheres and Austria a new one Area of ​​influence granted.

Riots in Portugal

Constitutionally, Portugal was ruled from Brazil, in 1815 Brazil received a new status, was no longer a Portuguese colony, but an independent kingdom with the same rights as Portugal, linked to it by personal union. The result of the war was a disaster for Portugal. The development of industrialization was halted, the country devastated by the scorched earth tactics used by both the French and the British. Domestically, the call for a constitution grew, especially in the Portuguese army . The liberal political ideas, brought to Portugal by Napoleon and the troops of revolutionary France, fell on fertile soil in the poorly paid army. The absence of the royal family, the presence of foreign commanders (Beresford) and the events in neighboring Spain, where liberalism was enjoying success, added to the unrest in Portugal. In 1817, Beresford had a number of conspirators executed, including Freemason leader and liberal General Gomes Freire de Andrade . In 1820, while Beresford was in Brazil, the Liberal Revolution began in Portugal with an uprising of officers (August 24, 1820) in Porto . The leader of the insurgents, the lawyer Manuel Fernandes Tomás , called for a liberal constitution, modeled on the Spanish constitution of 1812. In Lisbon a provisional government ( junta ) was formed and the British officers were removed from the Portuguese army. When Beresford returned to Lisbon from Brazil, he was banned from entering the city. The insurgents convened a constituent assembly ( Cortes ), which passed the first Portuguese constitution in 1821. The constitution confirmed the reign of the king who was asked to return from Brazil. The Inquisition and special rights of the Catholic Church , like feudal rule , were abolished, a unicameral parliament was set up, the result of general elections in which all Portuguese except women, illiterate people and clergy could participate. A provisional government ( Portuguese : Junta Provisional do Supremo Governo do Reino ) was established. The new constitution gave the king the right to veto the parliamentary bills, but he was not given the right to dissolve parliament.

Similar liberal unrest broke out in Brazil. In 1817 the Pernambucan uprising broke out in Recife , a republican movement that set up a provisional government in Pernambuco and spread to other Brazilian states. On August 24, 1820, the liberal revolution in Portugal broke out in Porto . This movement extended to Madeira, the Azores, reached the leadership of Grand Pará and Bahia in Brazil and triggered a military uprising in Rio de Janeiro itself.

Return to Europe

On January 30, 1821, the Cortes met in Lisbon and had the formation of a Regency Council to exercise power in the name of King John. They freed many political prisoners and demanded the immediate return of the king. On April 20, King John called a meeting in Rio to elect members of the Constituent Cortes. However, protests broke out the next day and were violently suppressed. The general opinion in Brazil was that if the king returned to Portugal, Brazil would lose its authority and regain its former colonial status. Under pressure Johann tried to find a middle ground and decided to send his son Prince Peter to Lisbon to pass a constitution and thus create the basis for a new government. However, the prince refused. The crisis was too far advanced and there was no turning back. John VI followed the increasingly urgent demands of the constituent assembly to return to Portugal. finally rather reluctantly and traveled to Lisbon on April 25, 1821. The king left his eldest son Peter as regent in Brazil. After living in Brazil for thirteen years, Johann left a country that he will miss all his life. This ended a period in which the Portuguese court had resided in Rio de Janeiro.

Domination

Johann arrives in Lisbon

The ships that brought Johann and his court arrived in Lisbon on July 3rd. His return was staged in such a way that it did not appear as if the king had been forced. By the time he arrived, a new political environment had in fact been created in Portugal. A constitution had been drafted and on October 1, 1822 the king had to swear allegiance and give up various privileges. Charlotte Joachime refused to follow her husband and was deprived of her political rights and her title of queen. In the meantime the king has also lost Brazil. His son Peter, who chose to stay in this country, led an uprising on September 7, 1822 that proclaimed the independence of Brazil . As part of this action, he took on the title of Emperor of Brazil and called himself Emperor Peter I. According to tradition, Johann is said to have foreseen this future event before returning to Portugal and said to his son: "Peter, Brazil will soon be separated from Portugal If so, put the crown on your head before an adventurer takes it. " According to the memoirs of the Count of Palmela, Brazilian independence was carried out by mutual agreement between the king and the prince. In any event, the subsequent correspondence between the two revealed the prince's concern about upsetting his father. However, Portugal did not officially recognize Brazil's independence at the time.

King John VI ( Sequeira , 1821)

The liberal constitution, to which the king had sworn allegiance, was in force for only a few months. Not everyone in Portugal supported liberalism, and an absolutist movement emerged. On February 23, 1823 Francisco Silveira, Count of Amarante, proclaimed an absolute monarchy in Trás-os-Montes , which led to further excitement. On May 27, the Infant Michael, instigated by his mother Charlotte Joachime, led another revolt known as the Vilafrancada . He intended to restore absolutism. Supporting his son to avoid his own deposition (which the Queen's party wanted), Johann appeared in public on his birthday next to his son, who was wearing a National Guard uniform, and received the applause of the militia. The king personally traveled to Vila Franca to better direct the uprising and eventually returned to Lisbon triumphant. The political climate was undecided, and even the most determined proponents of liberalism feared they were compromising too much. Before the Cortes were dissolved, they protested against any amendment to the recently passed constitutional text, but eventually the absolutist regime was restored, the rights of the queen restored and the king celebrated a second time on June 5th. Johann suppressed the resistance movements, deported some of the liberals and arrested others, ordered the restoration of justice and institutions in line with the new political orientation, and set up a commission to work out the basis for a new charter to replace the constitution.

The alliance with the Infante Michael bore no fruit. As always, he was influenced by his mother. He led the April Uprising, or Abrilada, through the Lisbon military garrison on April 29, 1824 . The uprising began under the pretext of destroying the Masons and defending the King from death threats that the Masons allegedly made against him. Johann was detained at the Bemposta Palace and several of Michael's political enemies were detained elsewhere. The infant wanted to force his father to abdicate. Faced with this situation, the diplomatic corps entered the palace, and in front of so many authorities, the king's guards did not resist and restored the king to some degree of freedom. On May 9, on the advice of friendly ambassadors, Johann pretended to travel to Caxias , but actually sought refuge with a British fleet anchored in port. From aboard the ship HMS Windsor Castle , he reprimanded his son, removed him from command of the army and ordered him to release his political prisoners. Michael was banished. With the defeat of the rebellion, both liberals and absolutists took to the streets to celebrate the survival of the legitimate government. On May 14th, the king returned to Bemposta, restored the Council of Ministers and showed generosity to the others who had rebelled. However, this did not deter the queen from further conspiracies. The police discovered another uprising planned for October 26th, on the basis of which Johann put his wife under house arrest in the palace of Queluz.

Last years

King John VI ( de Carvalho , around 1818)

At the end of his reign, King John ordered the creation of a free port in Lisbon, but the measure was not implemented. He also ordered further investigations to determine the death of the Marquis de Loule, his former friend, but nothing was ever found. On June 5, 1824, he pardoned those involved in the Porto Revolution with the exception of nine exiled officers. On the same day the old constitution of the kingdom came back into force and the Cortes met again to draft a new constitutional text. The constitutional amendment encountered several obstacles, most notably from Spain and supporters of the Queen.

However, the biggest problem Portugal faced at the time was the independence of Brazil, which had been the country's greatest source of wealth. The loss of Brazil had a very negative impact on the Portuguese economy. An expedition to recapture the former colony was even considered, but the idea was soon abandoned. Difficult negotiations and consultations carried out under pressure in Europe and in Rio de Janeiro under British mediation led to the final recognition of Brazil's independence on August 29, 1825. At the same time the king freed all Brazilian prisoners and allowed trade between the two nations. It was agreed that Peter would rule Brazil as sovereign with the title of emperor while Johann kept the honor of the title emperor of Brazil to himself. Since that time he signed official documents as Emperor and King John VI. Brazil had to pay certain funds that it had borrowed from Portugal. Nothing in the treaty spoke of the succession of the two crowns, but Peter, who still served as Prince of Portugal and the Algarve, implicitly remained heir to the Portuguese throne.

On March 4, 1826, John VI returned. back from Jeronimos Monastery where he was eating lunch and began to feel bad. He had vomiting, seizures, and fainting that lasted for a few days. He seemed to feel better later, but as a precaution he appointed his daughter, the Infanta Isabel Maria , to be regent. On the night of the 9th, his condition worsened, and he died around 5:00 a.m. on March 10th. The Infanta immediately took over the internal government of Portugal and Peter was recognized as the legitimate heir as King Peter IV of Portugal. Doctors could not clearly determine the cause of Johan's death, but it was suspected that he had been poisoned. His body was embalmed and buried in the Mausoleum of the Kings of Portugal, the royal pantheon of the House of Braganza, in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. In the 1990s, a team of investigators exhumed the Chinese ceramic pot that contained his intestines. Fragments of his heart were rehydrated and subjected to analysis that found enough arsenic to kill two people. This confirmed the long-standing suspicion of being murdered by poison.

Historical evaluation

Johann VI. is considered a politically contradicting figure. On the one hand, he was considered a representative and advocate of absolutism , which could not do anything with the ideas of the French Revolution . On the other hand, he managed to master the numerous crises of this stormy time through unorthodox behavior and agile politics. Napoleon invaded Portugal three times, in Brazil the independence movement began to become more and more powerful, in Portugal the liberal movement found ever greater popularity, which ultimately led to the liberal revolution , when his own wife Charlotte Joachime of Spain and his son Michael I conspired against him and led an absolutist uprising. Nevertheless, John VI succeeded. again and again to outmaneuver his foreign and domestic political as well as family enemies. The best-known example of this policy is the famous move of the court to Rio de Janeiro, which on the one hand withdrew the king from Napoleon's grasp, on the other hand weakened the independence movement and at the same time the real political conditions and the shift of power between small and poor Portugal and large and emerging Brazil reflected. Another example is the quote attributed to him: " Pedro, ponha a coroa na cabeça, antes que alguns desses aventureiros o faça " (Pedro, put the crown on your head before any adventurer does), with which he asked Pedro to not to fight the independence movement to the utmost, but, should it become overwhelming, on the contrary to put itself at its head, which further secured Pedro and the family the crown of Brazil. The Treaty of Rio de Janeiro in 1825 also reflects this maneuverability, in which he demanded the Brazilian crown for the independence of Brazil, which he was granted. So he died as the monarch of his two core countries, although Napoleon, the independence movement, the liberal opposition, the absolutist opposition and his own family had tried to overthrow him.

By making the colony of Brazil an equal partner of the former mother country of Portugal and even relocating the seat of government to South America, the conflict between the crown and the independence movement relaxed in contrast to the rest of Latin America. While relations between Spain and its former colonies remained strained for a long time after the South American Wars of Independence , Brazil and Portugal were closely connected, economically and politically intertwined and friends. In addition, led by Johann VI. In Brazil, a strong central government installed so that the large country, unlike the Spanish colonies, did not break apart after independence, but remained as a unit. Various Brazilian historians believe that without John VI. today there would probably be no Brazil, but the country would have broken up into small individual states. Senator José Joaquim Carneiro de Campos declared in the Brazilian Senate in 1826 on John's death: " All of us who are here have many reasons to praise the memory of King John VI, we should all be grateful for the benefits he has given us gave: He raised Brazil to a kingdom, cared for us all, always treated us with great affection and all Brazilians are indebted to him. "

progeny

In 1785 Johann married Charlotte Joachime of Spain , with whom he had the following children:

  1. ⚭ 1810 Peter Karl von Bourbon and Braganza, a son of her father's sister.
  2. ⚭ 1838 Carlos (V) (1788–1855) pretender to the throne of Spain
  1. ⚭ 1817 Maria Leopoldine of Austria (1797–1826)
  2. ⚭ 1829 Amélie von Leuchtenberg (1812–1873)

literature

  • Laurentino Gomes: 1808 ("Como uma rainha louca, um príncipe medroso e uma corte corrupta enganaram Napoleão e mudaram a História de Portugal e do Brasil"). Planeta, São Paulo 2007. ISBN 978-85-7665-320-2
  • Kirsten Schultz: Tropical Versailles: Empire, Monarchy, and the Portuguese Royal Court in Rio de Janeiro, 1808–1821. Routledge 2001. ISBN 0-415-92988-1

Web links

Commons : John VI. (Portugal)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge e Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 31-35 .
  2. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge e Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 42 .
  3. ↑ a b Pedreira, Jorge e Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, S. 38-43 .
  4. ↑ a b c Cronologia Período Joanino. In: Wayback Machine. January 2, 2012, accessed September 28, 2019 (Portuguese).
  5. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge e Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 42-54 .
  6. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge e Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 59-63 .
  7. ^ Thomas Strobel: A "Guerra das Laranjas" ea "Questão de Olivença" num contexto internacional . GRIN Verlag, 2008, p. 3 f .
  8. ^ Souza, Laura de Mello e: O sol ea sombra: política e administração na América portuguesa do século XVIII . Companhia das Letras, 2006, p. 394 .
  9. ^ A b c Andrade, Maria Ivone de Ornellas de: O reino sob tormenta . In: Marques, João et al (Ed.): Estudos em homenagem a João Francisco Marques . tape 1 . Universidade do Porto, p. 137-144 .
  10. ↑ a b c d e f Amaral, Manuel: João VI . In: Portugal - Dicionário Histórico, Corográfico, Heráldico, Biográfico, Bibliográfico, Numismático e Artístico . tape 3 , 2010, p. 1051-1055 .
  11. ↑ War of the Oranges . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . S. 2005 .
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  13. ↑ a b Schwarcz, Lília Moritz; Azevedo, Paulo Cesar de & Costa, Angela Marques da: A longa viagem da biblioteca dos reis: do terremoto de Lisboa à independência do Brasil . Companhia das Letras, 2002, p. 479 f .
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  16. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge e Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 174-176 .
  17. ^ Gomes, Laurentino: 1808 . Planeta, São Paulo 2007, p. 52 f .
  18. ^ O Embarque ea Viagem da Corte. Secretaria Municipal de Educação da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, accessed September 28, 2019 (Portuguese).
  19. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge; Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 185 f .
  20. ^ Gomes, Laurentino: 1808 . Planeta, São Paulo 2007, p. 64-71 .
  21. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge e Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 186 .
  22. ^ Gomes, Laurentino: 1808 . Planeta, São Paulo 2007, p. 64-70 .
  23. ↑ Bortoloti, Marcelo: Controvérsias na corte. In: Wayback Machine. Revista Veja, Edição 2013, June 20, 2007, accessed on September 28, 2019 (Portuguese).
  24. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge; Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 186-194 .
  25. ^ Gomes, Laurentino: 1808 . Planeta, São Paulo 2007, p. 72-74, 82-100 .
  26. ^ Gomes, Laurentino: 1808 . Planeta, São Paulo 2007, p. 201 .
  27. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge; Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 201-210 .
  28. ↑ Lobo Neto, Francisco José da Silveira: D. João VI ea educação brasileira: alguns documentos. (PDF) Trabalho Necessário, ano 6, nº 6, 2006, accessed on September 28, 2019 (Portuguese).
  29. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge e Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 208-210 .
  30. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge; Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 210-212 .
  31. ^ Gomes, Laurentino: 1808 . Planeta, São Paulo, S. 129 .
  32. ^ Mota, Carlos Guilherme: Viagem incompleta: a experiência brasileira. A grande transação . Senac, 2000, p. 453 f .
  33. ^ Mota, Carlos Guilherme: Viagem incompleta: a experiência brasileira. A grande transação . Senac, 2000, p. 455 .
  34. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge; Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 214-216 .
  35. ↑ Fernandes, Cláudia Alves; Fernandes Junior, Ricardo de Oliveira: Dom João VI: arquiteto da emancipação brasileira . In: Associação Educacional Dom Bosco, ed. XXII Simpósio de História do Vale do Paraíba . Resende, August 17, 2008, p. 36-38 .
  36. ↑ Oliveira, Anelise Martinelli Borges: Dom João VI no Rio de Janeiro: preparando o novo cenário . In: Revista História em Reflexão . tape 2 , no. 4 . Dourados December 2008.
  37. ↑ Lima, Carolina Carvalho Ramos de: Viajantes estrangeiros na corte de Dom João . In: Uni-FACEF Centro Universitário de Franca (ed.): Anais do II Fórum de Artigos Multidisciplinares . May 9, 2008.
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  39. ↑ A Casa Real. In: O Arquivo Nacional ea História Brasileira. Wayback Machine, June 7, 2013, accessed September 28, 2019 (Portuguese).
  40. ↑ Carvalho, Marieta Pinheiro de: D. João VI: perfil do rei nos trópicos Archived. In: Wayback Machine. Speech Virtual da Memória Brasileira. Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, 2008, accessed on September 28, 2019 (Portuguese).
  41. ^ Loyola, Leandro: A nova história de Dom João VI . In: Revista Época . No. 506 , Jan. 30, 2008.
  42. ↑ a b Bandeira, Moniz: Casa da Torre de Garcia d'Avila . Editora Record, 2000, p. 423-425 .
  43. ↑ caiena: mapa do comércio. In: Wayback Machine. O Arquivo Nacional ea História Luso-Brasileira, November 26, 2004, accessed on September 28, 2019 (Portuguese).
  44. ↑ Lima, Oliveira: D. João VI no Brasil - 1808-1821. Vol. I. Río de Janeiro: Type. do Jornal do Commercio, de Rodrigues, 1908, accessed September 28, 2019 (Portuguese).
  45. ^ Gomes, Laurentino: 1808 . Planeta, São Paulo 2007, p. 186-190 .
  46. ^ Gomes, Laurentino: 1808 . Planeta, São Paulo 2007, p. 169-177 .
  47. ↑ Amaral, Manuel: João VI . In: Portugal - Dicionário Histórico, Corográfico, Heráldico, Biográfico, Bibliográfico, Numismático e Artístico . tape 3 , 2010, p. 1051-1055 .
  48. ↑ Vicente, António Pedro: Política exterior de D. João VI no Brasil . tape 7 , no. 19 . Sao Paulo December 1993.
  49. ↑ Iglésias, Francisco: Trajetória política do Brasil, 1500-1964 . Companhia das Letras, 1993, p. 103-105 .
  50. ↑ Wilcken, Patrick: Império à deriva: a corte portuguesa no Rio de Janeiro, 1808-1821 . Editora Objetiva, 2005, p. 225 f .
  51. ↑ Lustosa, Isabel: D. Pedro I. Companhia das Letras, 2006, p. 77 f .
  52. ↑ a b Iglésias, Francisco: Brasil, 1500-1964 . Companhia das Letras, 1993, p. 106 .
  53. ↑ Cronologia Período Joanino. In: Wayback Machine. January 2, 2012, accessed September 28, 2019 (Portuguese).
  54. ↑ Amaral, Manuel: João VI . In: Portugal - Dicionário Histórico, Corográfico, Heráldico, Biográfico, Bibliográfico, Numismático e Artístico . tape 3 , 2010, p. 1051-1055 .
  55. ↑ Pedreira, Jorge; Costa, Fernando Dores: D. João VI: um príncipe entre dois continentes . Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 18 .
  56. ↑ Pascual, Antonio Diodoro: rasgos memoraveis do Senhor Dom Pedro I, imperador do Brasil, excelso duque de Bragança . Type. Universal de Laemmert, 1862, p. 65 .
  57. ^ Cardoso, António Barros: Liberais e absolutistas no Porto (1823-1829) . In: Departamento de Ciências e Técnicas do Património / Departamento de História. Estudos em homenagem ao professor doutor José Marques . Universidade do Porto, 2006, p. 262-269 .
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  59. ^ Cardoso, António Barros: Liberais e absolutistas no Porto (1823-1829) . In: Departamento de Ciências e Técnicas do Património / Departamento de História, ed. Estudos em homenagem ao professor doutor José Marques . Universidad de Oporto, 2006, p. 269-271 .
  60. ↑ a b Soriano, Simão da Luz & Baril, VL (Comte de la Hure): Historia de el-Rei D. João VI primeiro rei constitucional de Portugal e do Brazil: em que se referem os principaes actos e occorrencias do seu governo, bem como algumas particularidades da sua vida privada . Type. Universal, 1866, p. 117-123 .
  61. ^ Sánchez Mantero, Rafael .: Fernando VII . 1st ed. Arlanza Ediciones, Madrid 2001, ISBN 84-95503-23-9 , pp. 194 .
predecessor Office successor
Maria I. King of Portugal
1816–1826 		Peter IV./I.
Maria I. King of Brazil
1816–1822 		Peter IV./I.
personal data
SURNAME Johann VI.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES João VI
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Portugal and Brazil from the House of Braganza
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1767
PLACE OF BIRTH Lisbon
DATE OF DEATH March 10, 1826
Place of death Lisbon