September 7 is a national holiday Independence Day is celebrated in Brazil – the country discovered by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Cabral in 1500 during a trip to India.

Brazil aspired to independence at the beginning of the 18th century, during colonial times. At that time, Portugal was the metropolis, and England consumed the main part of the goods produced in this colony. In 1808, Napoleon launched a war against Portugal, due to which King Don Juan VI had to move with his court to Rio de Janeiro. The king’s move to Brazil brought the country even closer to independence. Already after 7 years, Brazil ceased to be a colony and became part of the United Kingdom on equal terms with Portugal.

Another 6 years later, Don Juan VI returned to Lisbon, leaving his heir in Rio and declaring him viceroy. It was Don Pedro I who declared Brazil an independent empire on September 7, 1822, and was crowned as Pedro I on December 1 of the same year. In this way, Brazil became an empire headed by a king who remained the heir to the Portuguese crown.