The Shadow of Great Britain

619: Chapter 308: Things in Iberia are Always So Bad_3 619: Chapter 308: Things in Iberia are Always So Bad_3 The Iberian Peninsula reserved its finest sunshine for Spain, while at the same time, it bestowed the harshest natural conditions upon Portugal.

However, as the saying goes, the severe terrains of mountains and plateaus within Portugal did not always play a negative role, at least they were greatly favored by military enthusiasts.

These mountains did not only shield Portugal from the Spaniards, who were always keen on swallowing it up, but also greatly aided Duke Wellington, who led the British forces to land in Portugal during the Peninsular War.

Wellington, who was always adept at defensive warfare, made full use of these advantageous terrains and recaptured most of the Iberian Peninsula, which had fallen into Napoleon’s hands.

Moreover, the harsh natural conditions also turned the Portuguese, who had no choice, into ‘the first crabs to seek a living at sea,’ launching the age of great maritime exploration from this barren land.

However, the glory of the age of exploration had become a shadow of the past, and today’s Portugal not only attracted little attention from other European countries but even their own Royal Family held little regard for this land.

In 1817, unable to withstand their own impoverished homeland, Portugal’s colony, Brazil, stirred up an independence revolution and declared the establishment of the Brazilian Republic.

Although this republic only lasted for a brief 76 days, it ultimately dealt a heavy blow to Portugal, already struggling to maintain itself, and showed the opposition within Portugal another possibility.

In 1820, influenced by the liberalism of the French Great Revolution, the Portuguese initiated a revolution, forcing King John VI to flee to Brazil.

Finally, after a year of wrangling, John VI reached an agreement with the constitutional assembly based on the premise of abolishing absolutism and establishing a constitutional monarchy, allowing him to end his exile and return home, while his heir, Prince Pedro, was left in Brazil to manage local affairs.

Upon discovering this situation, the members of the constitutional assembly immediately petitioned the king, uttering strange phrases like ‘The prince is the true dragon’s body, not suitable to reside in a barbaric land for long,’ and demanded that the king recall the prince to the homeland.

Moreover, these members, who disdainfully looked down upon Brazil, also passed a law that downgraded Brazil, originally elevated to the status of a kingdom, back to an overseas province, or in other words, a colony of Portugal.

Such actions naturally sparked intense dissatisfaction among Brazilians, and calls for independence once again echoed through the streets of Brazil.

At this time, Prince Pedro, who was left by the king to manage Brazil, resolutely chose to stay in Brazil and willingly took up the heavy responsibility as a leader of the Brazilian independence movement.

The prince, who had fled to Brazil with his father during the Napoleonic Wars, had developed a profound affection for this land.

To avoid Brazil returning to its colonial status, Prince Pedro even made statements so startling that even his own father felt faint.

Upon hearing the news, Prince Pedro immediately cried out in anger, “Even if there is to be a union, it should be the third-rate, impoverished Portugal joining the first-rate country, Brazil, not the other way around!”

Later, Prince Pedro formally issued a statement, “For the benefit of everyone and the welfare of the entire nation, I have decided to tell you all that I will continue to stay in Brazil.”

Subsequently, he officially declared his refusal to comply with the demands of the Portuguese constitutional assembly.

When the constitutional assembly learned of this, sticking to their principle of addressing issues decisively, they immediately declared the Brazilian government illegal and issued a war threat to Brazil.

Upon hearing the news, Prince Pedro, who had just finished training with the cavalry troops and was resting by the Ipiranga River with his horses, immediately stomped the government correspondence into the mud with his boot.

He mounted his horse and declared to his soldiers, “The time has come!

We prefer death over not being independent!

We are breaking with Portugal!”

The constitutional assembly, upon hearing the news, immediately dispatched a large army to quell the rebellion in Brazil.

Right before the Portuguese arrived in Brazil, on October 12, Pedro I ascended the throne in Rio de Janeiro, crowned as ‘Emperor of Brazil and Perpetual Protector.’

After several years of conflict between Portugal and Brazil, the Portuguese were ultimately unable to defeat the Brazilian navy, which had been shaped by Admiral Cochrane, notoriously known as the ‘madman of the bomb ships’ after being dismissed from the Royal Navy.

Seeing his son achieving so much, King John VI, despite the bitterness of becoming a constitutional king, felt gratified by his son’s accomplishment as the Emperor of Brazil.

Therefore, eventually John VI allowed Portugal to recognize Brazil’s independence.

Prince Pedro boldly stood up against his father, and his brother was also not outdone, being quite the hero himself.

In the spirit of ‘the younger trying to overthrow the elder,’ while the elder son, Prince Pedro, led Brazil in the ‘teach father a lesson’ campaign, the second son, Prince Miguel, became the leader of the Portuguese absolutists and took the opportunity while his father was overwhelmed to decisively start his ‘destroy father’ operation.

In 1823, the absolutists, led by Prince Miguel, suddenly made their move.

Their troops pointed directly at Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, demanding the dissolution of Parliament and the abolishment of the constitution.

Facing two dutiful sons, King John VI couldn’t handle them both at once and therefore had to concede to the rebels, granting the title of supreme commander of the Portuguese army to Prince Miguel.

The old king thought his son would now settle down, but the following year, Prince Miguel caused trouble again.

However, this time, well-prepared King John VI let him thoroughly learn what ‘your dad is ultimately your dad’ meant.