On 7 September 1822 Pedro I, son of King John VI, declared Brazil’s independence from Portugal (Independence Day).
Sete de Setembro , ‘Seven of September’), is a national holiday observed in Brazil to celebrate their independence.
Napoleon had invaded Portugal in 1808, forcing the Royal Family to flee and change the capital of their Empire from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. In 1820 the Royal Family returned to Portugal following the outbreak of revolution in that country. Pedro I, King John VI’s heir remained in Brazil.
In 1821, the Portuguese Assembly demanded Brazil to return to its former condition of colony and the return of the heir prince to Portugal. Prince Pedro refused to do so. On 2 September 1822, a new decree with Lisbon’s demands arrived in Rio de Janeiro, while Prince Pedro was in São Paulo. Princess Maria Leopoldina, acting as Princess Regent, met with the Council of Ministers and decided to send her husband a letter advising him to proclaim Brazil’s independence. The letter reached Prince Pedro on 7 September 1822. That same day, in a famous scene at the shore of the Ipiranga River, he declared the country’s independence, ending 322 years of colonial dominance of Portugal over Brazil.
