After John VI returned to Portugal in 1821, his heir Pedro became the regent of the Kingdom of Brazil with the informal agreement that he would have had the crown taken from him if Brazil was to become independent.
A portrait of Prince Pedro I.
In September 1821, the Portuguese assembly (with few Brazilian delegates present) voted to abolish the Kingdom of Brazil, placing all of the US provinces under the control of Lisbon. Troops were sent to Brazil and all Brazilian units were placed under Portuguese command. This opened the path to the brazilian independence.
In January 1822, the tension between the Portuguese troops and the brazilians began to rise when Pedro, who had been ordered to return to Lisbon from the assembly, refused to obey and decided to stay in Brazil. He had received petitions from several Brazilian cities, since his departure and removal of the central government would have caused separatist movements.
Pedro formed a new government led by José Bonifacio de Andrada and Silva of São Paulo. This figure was important in subsequent events and is considered to be one of the most important in Brazilian nationalism, to the point of being called "patriarch of independence." Because of the nervous atmosphere, Peter sought security asking asylum on an English ship and sent his family out of town.
On September 7, 1822, Prince Pedro, on his horse, snatched his knit painted with the Portuguese blue and white sign, pulled out his sword and pronounced in front of his guard of honor: "For my blood, for my honor, and for God: I will release Brazil." He screamed "It's time! Independence or Death! We are separated from Portugal." Those words enshrined the proclamation of the nation's independence, and later became the motto of Brazilian emancipation.
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