The Brazilian Revolution for independence from Portugal was an unusual one. It lasted from roughly 1789 to 1831, although there was no (or very, very little) actual bloodshed. The first hint of revolution came in 1789 when officials in the Brazilian military city of Minas Gerais revolted against imperial control. However, this small revolt was largely ignored. In 1807, Napoleon conquered Portugal, but not before the monarchy could relocate to Brazil. By 1815, Portugal’s king, King John VI, had come to love Brazil so much that he declared it a kingdom that year. Also in 1815, Napoleon was defeated. This allowed the monarchy to move back to Portugal- although they didn’t want to. So, like the last person at a party who just won’t leave, King John VI and his family stuck around. However, by 1821, the Brazilian people had gotten so fed up with having their king so close by that they forced him to return to Portugal. King John VI, although reluctantly forced back to his less-exciting homeland of Portugal, left his son Pedro behind to rule as Prince Regent. In the next year, talks began to declare Brazil independent from Portugal. Pedro became aware of this, and, rather than to oppose this and become the enemy of the people, he decided to side with them and declare Brazil an independent country in 1822. By 1825, Portugal had officially recognized this declaration. However, in 1831, Pedro realized that he was receiving some negativity from Brazilian people who saw him as Portuguese rather than Brazilian, and, not looking for bloodshed as per usual, he decided to abdicate the throne and return to Portugal. Pedro left the throne to his son, the 5-year-old Pedro II, for whom a team of advisors ruled until he was of age.
The key factor in this revolution was nationality and identity- who was Brazilian and who was Portuguese? King John VI was forced to leave Brazil because he was seen as “too Portuguese”. Brazil declared themselves independent because they didn’t feel they were a part of Portugal. King Pedro abdicated the Brazilian throne because he knew the people saw him as Portuguese rather than Brazilian. It’s all of these things that lead one to believe that identity and nationality drove the Brazilian Revolution.
The conflict of identity in relation to certain countries is still thriving in today’s society. Recently, President Barack Obama passed an executive action (an order from the President that doesn’t require Congressional approval) that will make it much easier for undocumented immigrants to stay in the US and not be deported, which eliminates the negative social status of millions of people that are living in the country illegally. An article in the Boston Globe by Chris Caesar and Eric Levenson titled “President Obama Announces Executive Action on Immigration Reform” outlines the entirety of the plan, but the jist of President Obama’s plan is not difficult to comprehend- according to the article, “Under the plan, undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for five years or more, have children who are citizens or legal residents, formally register, pass a criminal background check, and are willing to pay their “fair share” of taxes will be able to stay in the country without fear of deportation, the President said.” This action was, however, very controversial. I believe that President Obama’s plan is sound, but many people saw it as outside the POTUS’s rights in office, and are calling for impeachment. These people probably believe that the term “American” should only apply to those that were born here or those that moved in with family or friends that were born here, which reminds me of a similar conflict- the Brazilians saw themselves as one people, and wanted their children to be identified differently from Portugal’s children. This applies perfectly to today’s conflict, where many people believe that US citizenship should not be all-inclusive.
Bibliography:
Caesar, Chris, and Eric Levenson. "President Obama Announces Executive Action on Immigration Reform." Boston.com. The Boston Globe, 20 Nov. 2014. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
