brazil’s road to independence was different from that of its latin american neighbors in that
Answer: Brazil’s process of independence hence differed from other Latin American countries in that it was relatively smooth and slow. The pattern towards this sovereignty had several distinguishing features that marked Brazil out of the balance of other fellow South American nations.
While the Spanish colonies in America won independence through vigorous wars of liberation, Brazil’s process proved to be less bloody. The art of achieving this relatively non-violent transfer of power was thus based on the fact of Portugal’s dispersed empire in Brazil and the role of the Portuguese royal family. When Napoleon began his invasion of Portugal in 1808, the royal family was forced to move to Brazil. Thus, Brazil can be considered the capital of the Portuguese empire. This rather peculiar situation served to foster the development of vital institutions and infrastructure in Brazil, which would prove beneficial in the development of the nation’s independence.
Indeed, the declaration of independence itself which was declared by Prince Pedro in 1822 was due to negotiations and signings and not due to confrontational conflicts. Thus, this declaration of peace paved the way for Brazil to become a constitutional monarchy with Pedro as its first emperor. There was friction between Brazil and Portugal but the conflicts were political rather than a war of independence, as a result of the revolution in Portugal in the year 1820 that hoped to concentrate power.
Since the process of attaining independence for Brazil was a gradual and rather bloodless one, the country was spared much of the political turmoil that was the lot of many other nations in Latin America. It was combined with the delay of some colonial features and impacts in Brazil and with their influence on the country’s political and social processes in the way still felt to the present day.
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