The Social, Economic and Political Consequences of the Napoleonic Wars in Portugal
The involvement of Portugal in the Napoleonic war was due to its
refusal to close its ports to the British, as it had declared a
‘position of inviolable neutrality’ regarding the war. This led to the
occupation of Lisbon by the French army on the 1st December 1807. The
royal family, the government and members of the royal court all fled
to Brazil causing a profound shift in the traditional balance of power
between Brazil and Portugal. The status of Brazil was raised until it
made a separate kingdom equal to Portugal, diminishing the status of
Portugal since the power base was now in Brazil.
Initially, Portugal was able to capitalise on its neutral status as
trade routes were becoming relatively limited. In 1803 Portuguese
exports to England were worth more than 10 million escudos, and the
average worth of exports per year between 1800 and 1807 was 8 million
escudos. Imports were also high, and part of these imports was sold to
France and Spain.
In 1810 a treaty was signed which opened the ports of Brazil to trade
with Britain. Portugal was therefore cut out of the ‘trade triangle’
that it had previously monopolised. This meant that Portugal no longer
distributed Brazilian goods, and also ceased to supply Brazil to the
same extent. The economy suffered greatly because of this, for example
Portuguese exports of cotton fell to less than a tenth of the levels
previously exported.[1] A gradual shift towards Brazilian independence
from Portugal was started, although it did not happen for many years.
When Spain and Portugal decided to revolt against Napo...
... middle of paper ...
...ore moderately than
before) until he died in 1826.
In conclusion the period of time following the Napoleonic Wars was one
of great turmoil. The war left Portugal’s land damaged, the economy
unstable and the people restless. If the treaty allowing trade with
Brazil had not been signed, then it is feasible that Portugal could
have recovered much more quickly. As it was, however, the loss of
income at a time when Portugal needed money most desperately, was a
serious blow. If the wars had not occurred, and the royal family had
not fled to Brazil, then the style of absolutist governing would have
lasted much longer, though the shift to constitutionalism may have
eventually occurred anyway.
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[1] H.V Livermore; Portugal, a short history. Page 136
While the Brazilian Revolution emerged largely from the influence of the American Revolution, some variation remains between those two revolutions in exactly how those revolutions were executed and what the reasons for them were.
... K. Manchester is an authority on the history of Brazil and its relations with Great Britain. In an article entitled, “The Recognition of Brazilian Independence”, Manchester argues, “the struggle for independence in Brazil was influenced decisively by the intimate and unique ties which bound Portuguese America to Europe.”; independence was ultimately won by diplomacy. In his letter to John Jay, Thomas Jefferson cautiously explores the possibilities of engaging in a war with Portugal for the independence of Brazil and recognizes that the colony cannot conduct a revolution without the help of a powerful nation. Brazil considered the North American revolution a precedent for theirs. Jefferson maintained that the United States was not in any condition to engage in war. Jefferson's letter helps discredit the United States as Brazil’s primary benefactor during this time.
Bentley, J., & Ziegler, H. (2008). Trade and encounters a global perspective on the past. (4th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 182-401). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Spain, who was an ally of France, disobeyed Napoleon's decree. Then in 1808 Napoleon overthrew the Spanish royal family and made his brother Joseph king of Spain. However, everything that Napoleon did such as put in a foreign ruler, take away noble privileges offended Spanish pride and created nationalistic feelings. The people of Spain revolted in 1808. The French troops stopped the riots, but the nationalistic spirit was not lost. For the next five years, there was warfare in Spain. British troops came to aid Spain. This led to the defeat of Joseph, death of thousands of French troops and it inspired patriots and nationalists of other lands to resist Napoleon. This war between 1808 and 1813 is called The Peninsular War.
Napoleon was a great soldier that graduated from military school at the age of sixteen and quickly worked his way through the ranks. Napoleon was a brilliant leader in battle and consistently defeated armies larger than his own; including when he forced the Austrians to make peace after defeating four of their generals. In 1799 Napoleon and his colleagues overtook the French government and established power. He revised the constitution in 1802 to make himself consul for life, and then again in 1804 to make himself Emperor of France. Soon after Napoleon came to power he restructured the administration, simplified the court system, and began monitoring the schooling system; French law was also put in the Napoleon Code which guaranteed the rights and liberties that were gained through the revolution. Napoleons violent behavior caused war with Britain to break out, who allied with Russia and Austria. Prussia later allied themselves with Russia; creating a huge alliances against France and Napoleon. Napoleon successfully extended his reign over large parts of Europe and put each state under the Napoleon Code, which gave citizens new rights and privileges. In 1812 all of Europe turned against Napoleon, which lead to his exile in 1814. He regained power in 1815 just to loose it later that year. He died in exile in Saint Helena in 1821.
Today we give praise to those who participated in the journey to terminate the Atlantic Slave Trade in 1807. As we pay tribute to the end of that practice, it is ethical that we give thanks to the philanthropists such as William Wilberforce and additional people who were persistent to end the repugnant act. Although we give abundant honor to those who willingly participated in the Anti Slave Trade act, we must never forget the essential position the slave resistance and the Haitian Revolution had in the abolishment of the slave trade and eventually slavery as an entirety. The Haitian Revolution was important in American and British colonies. History shows that the British governmental class was terrified by the Haitian Revolution and say that future imports of African captives could pose as a security threat.
Russell-Wood, A. J. R. Portuguese empire, 1415-1808 a world on the move. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP, 1998. Print.
Before 1930, the Brazilian economy was dominated by a number of agricultural and mineral products for export. The world economic depression of the 1930s encouraged the government to diversify the economy, particularly through industrialization. Consequently, the importance of agriculture and mining has fallen significantly. A major objective of Brazil's industrialization policy was to replace imported manufactures with Brazilian-made ones. It is now able to export goods such as iron ore, soybeans, footwear, and coffee. Its imports include machinery and equipment, chemical products, oil, and electricity.
The tradition of Brazil's unequal distribution of land dates back to early colonial times. Between 1534 and 1536, the king of Portugal set up a system of land distribution through which he divided the territory of Brazil into 12 captaincies drawn from the coastline of Brazil to the line established by the Treaty of Tordesillas that separated Spanish from Portuguese land claims. The captaincies were given to those who were in favor of the crown and who agreed to send back one sixth of any accrued revenue to the crown. This was in response to a perceived need to occupy the territory to prevent French and Dutch from occupying the land and claiming it for their countries. This was the beginning of the tradition of single owners possessing large tracts of land, sometimes as large as small European countries, and this tradition continues in modern Brazil.
Mitchener, Kris, J. "Politics and trade: evidence from the age of imperialism." Voxeu.org. CEPR, 11 April 2008. Web. 30 November 2013.
In 1500's the Portuguese, led by explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral, arrived in Brazil. One of the first measures taken by the new arrivals was the conquering of the local population, the Brazilian Indians, in order to allow the Portuguese slave labor (for sugarcane and cotton). The experience with the Indians was a failure. The Indians quickly died in captivity or fled to their nearby homes. The Portuguese then began to import slave labor from Africa. On the other side of the Atlantic, free men and women were captured, loaded onto slave ships and sent on nightmare voyages that would end in bondage.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica in 1769. He was the third son and fourth
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