Pedro l

(1798 –1834), nicknamed “the Liberator”, was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. Born in Lisbon, Pedro I was the fourth child of João VI. When their country was invaded by French troops in 1807, he and his family fled to Brazil. The outbreak of the Liberal Revolution of 1820 in Lisbon compelled his father to return to Portugal in 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 in 1822. He was acclaimed Brazilian emperor and by 1824 he had defeated all armies loyal to Portugal. Pedro I briefly became king of Portugal in 1826 before abdicating in favor of his eldest daughter, Dona Maria II, but Miguel, Pedro I’s younger brother, usurped her throne. Unable to deal with problems in both Brazil and Portugal simultaneously, Pedro I abdicated in 1831 in favor of his son Pedro II, and sailed for Europe. He died in 1834, a few months after he and the liberals had emerged victorious. Pedro I was hailed by contemporaries and by posterity as a key figure who helped spread the liberal ideals that allowed Brazil and Portugal to move from absolutist regimes to representative forms of government