alternatehistory.com
A brief synopis of Brazilian History (OTL)
In Out Timeline, Brazil since its colonization by the Kingdom of Portugal would rise to become the most prized colony in the Portuguese Empire. By the late 18th Century, as Portugal became decadent and backwards, it also became entirely dependent on the exploitation of the natural resources extracted from Brazil. Without Brazil, Portugal would be reduced to a feeble princedom hugged in the shores of the Iberian Peninsula.
In 1808, Napoleonic France invaded Portugal due to its alliance with Britain. The entire Portuguese court, headed by the Prince-Regent John of Braganza (ruling in the name of his mother, Queen Maria I of Portugal) was transported to Rio de Janeiro with assistance of Great Britain. Never before a European monarch had even visited an overseas colony, but now the entire administration of Portugal was transplanted to the tropics, and the reforms enacted by Prince John forever changed the relationship between the metropolis and the colony. In 1815, after Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated, Brazil was elevated to the condition of United Kingdom with the realm of Portugal, and the capital of the Portuguese Empire was placed in Rio de Janeiro.
Nevertheless, the resentment and dissatisfaction of the Portuguese generated a grave crisis in 1820 – dubbed the Liberal Revolution – which in turn forced the Portuguese monarch (now named King John VI) to return to Lisboa and accept a Constitution diminishing his own powers, and the restoration of Brazil’s status quo as a colony.
In an unprecedented move, the faction inside Brazil that sought emancipation from Portugal supported Prince Pedro of Beira (the heir to the Kingdom of Portugal) to oppose the government of Lisboa and proclaim independence. In 1821, Dom Pedro relinquished his inheritance of the Portuguese crown, but was acclaimed Emperor of Brazil [Pedro I], and, after a brief war, had its independence recognized.
To most Brazilians, the “Imperial Era” is to this day understood as a golden age of sorts to the nation, especially the long reign of Emperor Pedro II (1831 – 1889, “the Second Reign”), as the former colony rose from an almost medieval country to the paramount nation in South America and an emerging power in the geopolitical scenario. This nostalgic aspect received an even more striking contrast by the fact that the First Republic that came after the unexpected downfall of the monarchy, in 1889, was marred by a succession of corrupt military dictatorships, and conservative agrarian oligarchies, whose policies effectively stagnated the country until the presidency of Getúlio Vargas in the 1930s, the first president who implemented projects of modernization and industrialization.
Modern Historians agree that without the monarchy, Brazil would have probably fragmented in at least three different countries, as there were strong emancipationist movements in its outlying provinces, similar to what happened in Spanish America.
This TL explores exactly a world in which the republic is founded after independence, but the territorial integrity of the country is maintained by "iron and blood" diplomacy, but at the cost of various civil wars. By the end, you will probably say this is a “Brazilwank”, but I’ll try to paint a more turbulent history for my own country.
The premise is: despite the conspicuous distinction of housing one of the only monarchical regimes in the Americas (like Haiti and Mexico), Brazil experienced some important republican movements by the end of the 18th Century and through the 19th Century, notably inspired by the ideals of the French and American Revolutions, in a context very similar to that in which the other South American countries became independent from the Kingdom of Spain. Those movements were all bloodily suppressed by the monarchist government, but ITTL they will be a bit more successful.
This TL begins with the two earliest of those movements, and from there onwards there will be significant divergences in the scenario, mainly in South America, but also in Europe.
Shall we go?
In 1808, Napoleonic France invaded Portugal due to its alliance with Britain. The entire Portuguese court, headed by the Prince-Regent John of Braganza (ruling in the name of his mother, Queen Maria I of Portugal) was transported to Rio de Janeiro with assistance of Great Britain. Never before a European monarch had even visited an overseas colony, but now the entire administration of Portugal was transplanted to the tropics, and the reforms enacted by Prince John forever changed the relationship between the metropolis and the colony. In 1815, after Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated, Brazil was elevated to the condition of United Kingdom with the realm of Portugal, and the capital of the Portuguese Empire was placed in Rio de Janeiro.
Nevertheless, the resentment and dissatisfaction of the Portuguese generated a grave crisis in 1820 – dubbed the Liberal Revolution – which in turn forced the Portuguese monarch (now named King John VI) to return to Lisboa and accept a Constitution diminishing his own powers, and the restoration of Brazil’s status quo as a colony.
In an unprecedented move, the faction inside Brazil that sought emancipation from Portugal supported Prince Pedro of Beira (the heir to the Kingdom of Portugal) to oppose the government of Lisboa and proclaim independence. In 1821, Dom Pedro relinquished his inheritance of the Portuguese crown, but was acclaimed Emperor of Brazil [Pedro I], and, after a brief war, had its independence recognized.
To most Brazilians, the “Imperial Era” is to this day understood as a golden age of sorts to the nation, especially the long reign of Emperor Pedro II (1831 – 1889, “the Second Reign”), as the former colony rose from an almost medieval country to the paramount nation in South America and an emerging power in the geopolitical scenario. This nostalgic aspect received an even more striking contrast by the fact that the First Republic that came after the unexpected downfall of the monarchy, in 1889, was marred by a succession of corrupt military dictatorships, and conservative agrarian oligarchies, whose policies effectively stagnated the country until the presidency of Getúlio Vargas in the 1930s, the first president who implemented projects of modernization and industrialization.
Modern Historians agree that without the monarchy, Brazil would have probably fragmented in at least three different countries, as there were strong emancipationist movements in its outlying provinces, similar to what happened in Spanish America.
This TL explores exactly a world in which the republic is founded after independence, but the territorial integrity of the country is maintained by "iron and blood" diplomacy, but at the cost of various civil wars. By the end, you will probably say this is a “Brazilwank”, but I’ll try to paint a more turbulent history for my own country.
The premise is: despite the conspicuous distinction of housing one of the only monarchical regimes in the Americas (like Haiti and Mexico), Brazil experienced some important republican movements by the end of the 18th Century and through the 19th Century, notably inspired by the ideals of the French and American Revolutions, in a context very similar to that in which the other South American countries became independent from the Kingdom of Spain. Those movements were all bloodily suppressed by the monarchist government, but ITTL they will be a bit more successful.
This TL begins with the two earliest of those movements, and from there onwards there will be significant divergences in the scenario, mainly in South America, but also in Europe.
Shall we go?
- Rdffigueira
- Word Count: 650