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When the Portuguese court returned to Lisbon after the Liberal uprisings in 1820, Prince Pedro remained behind as Regent of Brazil. The Portuguese Cortes demoted Brazil from a kingdom and reinforced it's dependency on Portugal, also demanding that Pedro return to Portugal: it was planned for him to embark on a trip to Spain, France, and England. He refused, IOTL, and ended up becoming Emperor of Brazil.

Now, what if Pedro returns to Portugal? Perhaps he less sympathetic to the Brazilian cause or simply wants to see if he can reason with the Cortes to restore Brazil to it's former position as a constituent kingdom. There wouldn't be any succession messes when John VI dies if Pedro is in Europe, since he can easily take the Portuguese throne before Miguel can return from his exile in Vienna.

This would definitely throw a spanner in the Brazilian independence movement; I don't think Pedro was too integral to the process, so if anything I could see the independence movement moving quickly towards Republicanism, giving us a Republic of Brazil in the 1820s. Could also be interesting if Portugal decides to put up more of a fight, could see some solidarity between the Brazilians and the Latin American Revolutionaries.
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