This is part of a larger timeline which I called "Habsburg Concordia", which explores a world where the Habsburgs won the 30 Years War, in this topic I want to explore a specific country, Brazil and how PoD can modify your story:
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Teodosio I was a sad man when he died, having been forced to abandon his homeland and throw himself into a foreign land and spend the rest of his life there, ruling a kingdom isolated from the world, but how did that happen?
This question can be answered by going back a few decades, respectively until the accession of Philip IV of Spain and III of Portugal, the new king had a different approach to Portuguese issues. Taxes on Portuguese merchants were increased, the Portuguese nobility began to lose their influence in the Spanish Cortes, and government posts in Portugal were increasingly held by Spaniards. Ultimately, Philip IV and III tried to make Portugal a Spanish province, and the Portuguese nobles lost all their power.
Such action led to growing discontent in Portugal, pro-independence sentiments became increasingly popular, when an armed uprising was about to erupt in the late 1630s, this was avoided thanks to the Spanish victory in the 20s Years War (1618-1638) when taxes were severely lowered with the end of the expensive war, this however would only postpone the worst.
At the beginning of the 1660s, Portugal found itself in the same situation as in previous decades, with a smaller and smaller number of foreigners in power, being swallowed up by the influence of Spain, this situation culminated in a revolution organized by the nobility and bourgeoisie, carried out on the 1st of December 1663, eighty-three years after the coronation of Philip I (Philip II of Spain), the first "double monarch".
The support of the people became evident almost immediately, and in a matter of hours, Philip III's 3rd cousin, João, 8th Duke of Bragança, was hailed as King João IV of Portugal; the news spread like wildfire across the country. This coup started the so-called "War of Acclamation" between 1663 and 1683, Spain sought to isolate Portugal militarily and diplomatically, and Portugal sought to find the resources to maintain its independence through political alliances and maintaining its colonial revenues.
Militarily, the War of Acclamation consisted mainly of border skirmishes and cavalry incursions to plunder border towns, combined with occasional raids and counter-invasions, many of them disheartened and underfunded, this situation remained so for nearly fifteen years.
From the second half of the 1670s the luck of the Portuguese began to decline, Portugal was essentially an isolated state from the rest of Europe, having help from enemies of the Spanish Habsburgs such as Louis XIV's France, this help was very precarious, and the war had remained in a stalemate for the last few years, this impasse was changed after a series of massive defeats in 1675 and 1676 on the Portuguese Spanish frontier that allowed the entry of Spanish forces into Portuguese territory for the first time in twelve years, the period between 1675 to 1680 was marked by more and more defeats for Portugal, after the fall of the city of Porto in August 1679, the territories dominated by Portugal were limited to Lisbon and the archipelago of Madeira.
From 1680 the fall of Lisbon became a matter of time, so a retreat to the Archipelago of Madeira was planned, however the already very old King João IV knew that Madeira Island would soon be captured by the Spanish fleet, the priest António Vieira pointed out the idea of transfer to Brazil, an idea already presented a few years before, throughout the year 1680 several members of the nobility began to leave Lisbon, it was only in December that the king left the city, along with the rest of the royal family and their supporters, Lisbon would fall to the Spanish in January.
João IV's health was already very good, the transfer to Madeira Island only worsened the situation, the king ended up dying on February 1, 1681, at the age of 77, his son Teodosio was quickly acclaimed as King of Portugal, knowing that Madeira Island would soon be taken, the new king soon prepared the flight to Brazil, this effectively happened on July 8, 1681, when the king and a fleet of more than 20 ships, taking almost all the members of the Bragança family, Noble supporters, employees and personal items left for Brazil.
The squadron landed in the city of Salvador on October 10, 1681, being received by the Governor-General of Colonia, Roque da Costa Barreto, the members of the royal family were housed in government buildings, while the other aggregates spread across the city, in homes confiscated from the population.
Although there were plans to continue the war, with the idea of gathering a fleet of ships to invade Madeira Island (taken by the Spanish Armada in August 1681), and from there to attempt an invasion of southern Portugal, King Theodosio I knew although taking Portugal was impossible, after two more years of war by proxy and some conflicts in the south of the colony, Portugal and Spain made peace in January 1683, Spain, although reluctant, was already tired of the long war, besides the Spaniards knew they could not take Brazil.
Knowing that he would never return to Portugal, Teodosio I ended up elevating the colony to the status of Kingdom on May 31, 1683, when he was acclaimed as Teodosio I of Brazil and crowned in Salvador in a luxurious ceremony, the new Kingdom of Brazil was the first As an independent country on the American continent, eight years before the declaration of independence by the Confederation of Columbia in 1691, Brazil evidently declared itself as the successor of the Kingdom of Portugal.
Teodosio I reigned for 20 years, ruling a kingdom isolated from the world, Spain in its fury had tried to isolate the new kingdom from Europe, in 1684 having prohibited slave trading posts from doing trade with Brazil, something that effectively should have the economy of Brazil, in addition, the sugar trade began to decline, although news of the discovery of gold in the Province of São Paulo encouraged the now king João V, the king already wanted to transfer the court for a long time, this only gave him yet another excuse, the new king wonders what future is in store for his kingdom?
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The situation of the Kingdom of Brazil in 1703, after the acclamation of King João V
King Teodosio I of Brazil in his youth (Left), King João V of Brazil after his accession in 1703
November 22, 1703 was a sad day in Brazil, that morning the young kingdom lost its first monarch, Teodosio I of Bragança died at dawn in the city of Salvador, capital of the Kingdom of Brazil, on the same day his eldest son , Prince João was acclaimed king, although there was an initial controversy about what his royal name would be, soon the prince made it clear that he would reign as João V, making clear the claims of the Kingdom of Brazil as the direct successor of the old Kingdom of Portugal.
King Teodosio I of Brazil in his youth (Left), King João V of Brazil after his accession in 1703
Teodosio I was a sad man when he died, having been forced to abandon his homeland and throw himself into a foreign land and spend the rest of his life there, ruling a kingdom isolated from the world, but how did that happen?
This question can be answered by going back a few decades, respectively until the accession of Philip IV of Spain and III of Portugal, the new king had a different approach to Portuguese issues. Taxes on Portuguese merchants were increased, the Portuguese nobility began to lose their influence in the Spanish Cortes, and government posts in Portugal were increasingly held by Spaniards. Ultimately, Philip IV and III tried to make Portugal a Spanish province, and the Portuguese nobles lost all their power.
Such action led to growing discontent in Portugal, pro-independence sentiments became increasingly popular, when an armed uprising was about to erupt in the late 1630s, this was avoided thanks to the Spanish victory in the 20s Years War (1618-1638) when taxes were severely lowered with the end of the expensive war, this however would only postpone the worst.
At the beginning of the 1660s, Portugal found itself in the same situation as in previous decades, with a smaller and smaller number of foreigners in power, being swallowed up by the influence of Spain, this situation culminated in a revolution organized by the nobility and bourgeoisie, carried out on the 1st of December 1663, eighty-three years after the coronation of Philip I (Philip II of Spain), the first "double monarch".
The support of the people became evident almost immediately, and in a matter of hours, Philip III's 3rd cousin, João, 8th Duke of Bragança, was hailed as King João IV of Portugal; the news spread like wildfire across the country. This coup started the so-called "War of Acclamation" between 1663 and 1683, Spain sought to isolate Portugal militarily and diplomatically, and Portugal sought to find the resources to maintain its independence through political alliances and maintaining its colonial revenues.
Militarily, the War of Acclamation consisted mainly of border skirmishes and cavalry incursions to plunder border towns, combined with occasional raids and counter-invasions, many of them disheartened and underfunded, this situation remained so for nearly fifteen years.
From the second half of the 1670s the luck of the Portuguese began to decline, Portugal was essentially an isolated state from the rest of Europe, having help from enemies of the Spanish Habsburgs such as Louis XIV's France, this help was very precarious, and the war had remained in a stalemate for the last few years, this impasse was changed after a series of massive defeats in 1675 and 1676 on the Portuguese Spanish frontier that allowed the entry of Spanish forces into Portuguese territory for the first time in twelve years, the period between 1675 to 1680 was marked by more and more defeats for Portugal, after the fall of the city of Porto in August 1679, the territories dominated by Portugal were limited to Lisbon and the archipelago of Madeira.
From 1680 the fall of Lisbon became a matter of time, so a retreat to the Archipelago of Madeira was planned, however the already very old King João IV knew that Madeira Island would soon be captured by the Spanish fleet, the priest António Vieira pointed out the idea of transfer to Brazil, an idea already presented a few years before, throughout the year 1680 several members of the nobility began to leave Lisbon, it was only in December that the king left the city, along with the rest of the royal family and their supporters, Lisbon would fall to the Spanish in January.
João IV's health was already very good, the transfer to Madeira Island only worsened the situation, the king ended up dying on February 1, 1681, at the age of 77, his son Teodosio was quickly acclaimed as King of Portugal, knowing that Madeira Island would soon be taken, the new king soon prepared the flight to Brazil, this effectively happened on July 8, 1681, when the king and a fleet of more than 20 ships, taking almost all the members of the Bragança family, Noble supporters, employees and personal items left for Brazil.
The squadron landed in the city of Salvador on October 10, 1681, being received by the Governor-General of Colonia, Roque da Costa Barreto, the members of the royal family were housed in government buildings, while the other aggregates spread across the city, in homes confiscated from the population.
Although there were plans to continue the war, with the idea of gathering a fleet of ships to invade Madeira Island (taken by the Spanish Armada in August 1681), and from there to attempt an invasion of southern Portugal, King Theodosio I knew although taking Portugal was impossible, after two more years of war by proxy and some conflicts in the south of the colony, Portugal and Spain made peace in January 1683, Spain, although reluctant, was already tired of the long war, besides the Spaniards knew they could not take Brazil.
Knowing that he would never return to Portugal, Teodosio I ended up elevating the colony to the status of Kingdom on May 31, 1683, when he was acclaimed as Teodosio I of Brazil and crowned in Salvador in a luxurious ceremony, the new Kingdom of Brazil was the first As an independent country on the American continent, eight years before the declaration of independence by the Confederation of Columbia in 1691, Brazil evidently declared itself as the successor of the Kingdom of Portugal.
Teodosio I reigned for 20 years, ruling a kingdom isolated from the world, Spain in its fury had tried to isolate the new kingdom from Europe, in 1684 having prohibited slave trading posts from doing trade with Brazil, something that effectively should have the economy of Brazil, in addition, the sugar trade began to decline, although news of the discovery of gold in the Province of São Paulo encouraged the now king João V, the king already wanted to transfer the court for a long time, this only gave him yet another excuse, the new king wonders what future is in store for his kingdom?
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) but to cut it short - he essencially built it