Pedro I of Brazil Pedro IV of Portugal |
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Emperor Dom Pedro I at age 35, 1834
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Emperor of Brazil | |||||
Reign | 12 October 1822 – 7 April 1831 | ||||
Coronation | 1 December 1822 | ||||
Successor | Pedro II | ||||
King of Portugal and the Algarves | |||||
Reign | 10 March 1826 – 2 May 1826 | ||||
Predecessor | João VI | ||||
Successor | Maria II | ||||
Born |
Queluz Palace, Lisbon, Portugal |
12 October 1798||||
Died | 24 September 1834 Queluz Palace, Lisbon, Portugal |
(aged 35)||||
Burial | Monument to the Independence of Brazil, São Paulo | ||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue among others... |
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House | Braganza | ||||
Father | João VI, King of Portugal | ||||
Mother | Carlota Joaquina of Spain | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
Signature |
Full name | |
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Pedro de Alcântara Francisco António João Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim José Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim |
Styles of Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil |
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Reference style | His Imperial Majesty |
Spoken style | Your Imperial Majesty |
Alternative style | Sire |
Royal styles of Pedro IV, King of Portugal |
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Reference style | His Most Faithful Majesty |
Spoken style | Your Most Faithful Majesty |
Alternative style | Sire |
Dom Pedro I (English: Peter I; 12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), nicknamed "the Liberator", was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he reigned briefly over Portugal, where he also became known as "the Liberator" as well as "the Soldier King". Born in Lisbon, Pedro I was the fourth child of King Dom João VI of Portugal and Queen Carlota Joaquina, and thus a member of the House of Braganza. When their country was invaded by French troops in 1807, he and his family fled to Portugal's largest and wealthiest colony, Brazil.
The outbreak of the Liberal Revolution of 1820 in Lisbon compelled Pedro I's father to return to Portugal in April 1821, leaving him to rule Brazil as regent. He had to deal with threats from revolutionaries and insubordination by Portuguese troops, all of which he subdued. The Portuguese government's threat to revoke the political autonomy that Brazil had enjoyed since 1808 was met with widespread discontent in Brazil. Pedro I chose the Brazilian side and declared Brazil's independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822. On 12 October, he was acclaimed Brazilian emperor and by March 1824 had defeated all armies loyal to Portugal. A few months later, Pedro I crushed the short-lived Confederation of the Equator, a failed secession attempt by provincial rebels in Brazil's northeast.
A secessionist rebellion in the southern province of Cisplatina in early 1825, and the subsequent attempt by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata to annex it, led the Empire into the Cisplatine War. In March 1826, Pedro I briefly became king of Portugal before abdicating in favor of his eldest daughter, Dona Maria II. The situation worsened in 1828 when the war in the south resulted in Brazil's loss of Cisplatina. During the same year in Lisbon, Maria II's throne was usurped by Prince Dom Miguel, Pedro I's younger brother. The Emperor's concurrent and scandalous sexual affair with a female courtier tarnished his reputation. Other difficulties arose in the Brazilian parliament, where a struggle over whether the government would be chosen by the monarch or by the legislature dominated political debates from 1826 to 1831. Unable to deal with problems in both Brazil and Portugal simultaneously, on 7 April 1831 Pedro I abdicated in favor of his son Dom Pedro II, and sailed for Europe.