Brazilian Empire / Imperio do Brasil

Empire of Brazil / Imperio do Brasil
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century constitutional monarchy that broadly comprised present-day Brazil under the rule of Emperors Dom (English: Don or Lord) Pedro I and his son Dom Pedro II, both members of the House of Braganza (Portuguese: Bragança)—a branch of the thousand-year old Capetian Dynasty. A colony of the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil became the seat of the Portuguese colonial Empire in 1808, when the Portuguese King João VI, in an attempt to escape from Napoleon Bonaparte's conquests in Europe, established himself and his government in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. He later returned to Portugal, leaving his eldest son and heir Pedro to rule Brazil as regent.
On 7 September 1822, Pedro declared the independence of Brazil and, after waging a successful war against his father's kingdom, was acclaimed on 12 October as Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil. As the head of state of a huge but sparsely-populated and ethnically-diverse empire, Pedro I was immediately faced with a number of obstacles: he entered into a long conflict of ideals with a sizable parliamentary faction over the role of the monarch in the government; and the unsuccessful Cisplatine War against the neighboring United Provinces of South America led to the secession of a Brazilian province (later to become Uruguay) in 1828. In 1826, despite his role in Brazilian independence, he became the king of Portugal but immediately abdicated the crown to his eldest daughter, Dona (English: Dame or Lady) Maria II. Two years later her throne was usurped by Pedro I's younger brother, Dom Miguel I. Unable to deal with both Brazilian and Portuguese affairs, Pedro I abdicated on 7 April 1831, having reigned for less than nine years, and immediately departed for Europe to restore his daughter to her throne.
Pedro I's successor was his five-year-old son, Pedro II. As Pedro II was still a minor, a weak regency was created and the power vacuum resulting from the absence of a monarch as the ultimate arbiter in political disputes led to regional civil wars between local factions. Having inherited an empire on the verge of disintegration, Pedro II, once declared of age, transformed Brazil into an emerging power on the international stage. The nation grew to be distinguished from its Hispanic neighbors on account of its political stability, zealously-guarded freedom of speech, respect for civil rights, vibrant economic growth and especially for its form of government: a functional, representative parliamentary monarchy. Brazil was also victorious in three international conflicts (the Platine War, the Uruguayan War and the Paraguayan War) under his rule, as well as prevailing in several other international disputes and domestic tensions.
Unlike its neighbors, the Empire of Brazil was not troubled (even during the chaotic regency period) by dictatorships or repression of civil rights. The last four decades of Pedro II's reign were marked by internal peace and economic prosperity.
Despite the lack of enthusiasm for a republic among most Brazilians, on 15 November 1889, after a 58-year reign, the Emperor was overthrown in a sudden coup d'état that had almost no support outside a clique of military leaders whose goal was the formation of a republic headed by a dictator.

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