Pedro I of Brazil
Liberal Revolution of 1820

On 17 October 1820, news arrived that the military garrisons in Portugal had mutinied, leading to what became known as the Liberal Revolution of 1820. The military formed a provisional government, supplanting the regency appointed by John VI, and summoned the Cortes —the centuries-old Portuguese parliament, this time democratically elected with the aim of creating a national Constitution. Pedro was surprised when his father not only asked for his advice, but also decided to send him to Portugal to rule as regent on his behalf and to placate the revolutionaries. The prince was never educated to rule and had previously been allowed no participation in state affairs. The role that was his by birthright was instead filled by his elder sister Dona Maria Teresa: John VI had relied on her for advice, and it was she who had been given membership in the Council of State.

Pedro was regarded with suspicion by his father and by the king's close advisers, all of whom clung to the principles of absolute monarchy. By contrast, the prince was a well-known, staunch supporter of liberalism and of constitutional representative monarchy. He had read the works of Voltaire, Benjamin Constant, Gaetano Filangieri and Edmund Burke. Even his wife Maria Leopoldina remarked, "My husband, God help us, loves the new ideas." John VI postponed Pedro's departure for as long as possible, fearing that once he was in Portugal, he would be acclaimed king by the revolutionaries.

On 26 February 1821, Portuguese troops stationed in Rio de Janeiro mutinied. Neither John VI nor his government made any move against the mutinous units. Pedro decided to act on his own and rode to meet the rebels. He negotiated with them and convinced his father to accept their demands, which included naming a new cabinet and making an oath of obedience to the forthcoming Portuguese Constitution. On 21 April, the parish electors of Rio de Janeiro met at the Merchants' Exchange to elect their representatives to the Cortes. A small group of agitators seized the meeting and formed a revolutionary government. Again, John VI and his ministers remained passive, and the monarch was about to accept the revolutionaries' demands when Pedro took the initiative and sent army troops to re-establish order. Under pressure from the Cortes, John VI and his family departed for Portugal on 26 April, leaving behind Pedro and Maria Leopoldina. Two days before he embarked, the King warned his son: "Pedro, if Brazil breaks away, let it rather do so for you, who will respect me, than for one of those adventurers."
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