While all this was happening in Brazil, the French had been finally
driven out from Portugal, and King Joao VI. determined to return once
more to his native country. On April 24 he sailed with the Royal Family,
leaving his son, Dom Pedro, as Governor of Brazil. Only a day or two
before a disturbance had broken out in the capital. When the electors
assembled, they were wantonly attacked by the Portuguese soldiery, and
about thirty of them were slain, the majority in cold blood. The
atrocity would have doubtlessly been more serious had not the popular
Dom Pedro interfered.
With the departure of the King from Brazil it was inevitable that
complications should ensue. Having once enjoyed the status of a kingdom,
and having been granted those privileges which had so benefited the
country during the past few years, it was only natural that Brazil
should resent any attempt to place her once again in the neglected
situation from which she had been rescued. It seemed, nevertheless, as
though the policy of Portugal would now be directed towards this end. It
was at this juncture that the influence of Prince Pedro began to be
felt.
Prince Pedro possessed a personality essentially capable of commanding;
his talents, moreover, were varied.
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