The Portuguese court moves to Rio
Fleeing Napoleon's invasion of Portugal, the royal family and thousands of courtiers sail to Brazil, turning Rio de Janeiro into the capital of a global empire.
- Tropical Versailles: Empire, Monarchy, and the Portuguese Royal Court in Rio de Janeiro, 1808–1821 — Kirsten Schultz, Routledge (2001)
- Brazil: A Biography — Lilia M. Schwarcz and Heloisa M. Starling, Allen Lane (2018)
- A Concise History of Brazil — Boris Fausto and Sergio Fausto, Cambridge University Press (2014)
In November 1807, as French troops marched on Lisbon, the Prince Regent João, his mother Queen Maria I and perhaps 10,000–15,000 courtiers and officials sailed for Brazil under British naval escort, arriving in Rio in March 1808. No European monarch had ever ruled from a colony. João opened Brazil’s ports to friendly nations, founded a bank, a printing press, schools of medicine and the botanical garden, and in 1815 raised Brazil to a kingdom equal with Portugal. When revolution in Portugal forced him home in 1821, he left his son Pedro behind as regent.
- Tropical Versailles: Empire, Monarchy, and the Portuguese Royal Court in Rio de Janeiro, 1808–1821 — Kirsten Schultz, Routledge (2001)
- Brazil: A Biography — Lilia M. Schwarcz and Heloisa M. Starling, Allen Lane (2018)
- A Concise History of Brazil — Boris Fausto and Sergio Fausto, Cambridge University Press (2014)
Why it matters today
It is the strange reason Brazil became independent as a monarchy, held together as one huge country rather than splitting into several republics like Spanish America. Rio's botanical garden, national library and the habit of thinking of Rio as the nation's showcase all date from these years.