User:OaklandGrizzly/John VI of Portugal

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Dom John VI (Portuguese: João VI; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), nicknamed "the Clement", was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825. Although the United Kingdom of Portugal ceased to exist de facto beginning in 1822, he remained its monarch de jure between 1822 and 1825. After the recognition of the independence of Brazil under the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro of 1825, he continued as King of Portugal until his death in 1826. Under the same treaty, he also became titular Emperor of Brazil for life, while his son, Emperor Dom Pedro I, was both de facto and de jure the monarch of the newly independent country.

Joao Maria Jose Francisco Xavier de Paula Luis Antonio Domingos Rafael was born on May on May 13, 1767 to Dona Maria, Princess of Brazil and Dom Peter of Portugal. Though at this time, his grandfather, King Dom Joseph I, occupied the throne. Joao only became heir to the throne when his older brother Dom José, Prince of Brazil, died of smallpox in 1788 at only 27 years old. Before his accession to the Portuguese throne, John bore the titles Duke of Braganza, Duke of Beja, and Prince of Brazil. Later, in an arrangement, Joao married Carlota Joaquina of Spain. However, the marriage seemed to be an uncomfortable one. Joao came to miss his family, especially his sister, and it seemed he possessed more love to her, rather than his wife, as evidenced by his letters. He wrote, "she is very smart and has a lot of judgement, whereas you have rather little, and I like her a lot, but for all that I cannot love her equally" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_VI_of_Portugal). Beginning 1799, Joao became prince regent as a result of his mother suffering from mental illness. As a result of her illness, the queen was deemed unfit to rule and Joao essentially took control of the country. Eventually, after his mother died in 1816, Joao succeeded the throne and was crowned King John VI of Portugal.

However, John was faced with s series of troubling situations during his life. Portugal soon came under threat by. series of European powers, including Spain and France. John was forced to sign treaties that diminished Portugal's spot on the world stage. The Treaty of Madrid, for instance, Portugal, "ceded territory to Spain, in particular Olivenza, and made concessions to the French over certain colonial territories" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_VI_of_Portugal). Even more than that, John faced an even greater threat from his own marriage. His wife, Carlota Joaquina, attempted a coup against him to try and seize power herself, but was ultimately defeated and in 1805, was sent into exile. It was events like these that questioned the Portuguese people as to if John was capable of commanding the nation. That he was as incapable of ruling as his mother was. "Rumors circulated that John exhibited symptoms of the same insanity, and that he might be prevented from ruling" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_VI_of_Portugal). Troubles soon grew worse. In 1807, Napoleon and his army invaded Portugal and the royal family was forced to flea to Brazil for safety. The voyage there was a grueling one as a result of harsh conditions the passengers faced, but after several days, the royal family finally landed in Brazil.

With the arrival of the royal family, Brazil began to change in ways that were unprecedented at the time. John VI helped change Brazil from an ordinary colony into a booming society. This was done in large part to the establishment of a new government the capital, Rio de Janeiro. The King established a government that would have been capable of dealing with all of the deficiencies Brazil had. "The colony lacked banks, commerce courts, currency, factories, hospitals, libraries, roads, schools, a press, and efficient communication" (1808: Flight of the Emperor, 151). John VI had the government begin working on adding these traits into everyday life. In a sense, Brazil was evolving to reach the same status as the societies in Europe.