salvation of this great part of the Portuguese monarchy which has been intrusted to my care, and the rights of which I have sworn to preserve uninfringed: and as the Cortes of Lisbon continue to pursue the same erroneous system, and to entertain all the unjust views of recolonizing Brazil, even by force of arms-notwithstanding that Brazil has proclaimed her political independence, and that by my royal decree of the 3d of June last passed, there stands legally convoked a. general constituent and legislative assembly, called at the request of the councils of all the different magistracies, thus proceeding with a formality which was wanting in Portugal, since there the convocation of the congress was in its origin solely the work of secret and seditious clubs: and considering also his majesty don João VI, our lord, whose name and authority the Cortes for their own sinister ends pretend to employ, as a prisoner in the said kingdom of Portugal, deprived of his own free will, and without that liberty of action which belongs to the executive power in constitutional monarchies, I, after having heard my council of state, order to all the provisional governing juntas, generals of armies, military commandants, and all constituted authorities, to whom the execution of this decree appertains, what follows: 1. That all troops which, without my previous consent, may come from Portugal or any other quarter, whatever be the pretext for sending them, shall be considered enemies; as shall also all the crews or marines belonging to ships in which the said troops may be transported, if they attempt to land: the commercial and friendly relations being, however, left open between the two kingdoms, for the preservation of that political union which it is so desirable to maintain. 2. That if they should arrive with peaceful intentions, they must nevertheless return, and besides must remain on board without communication, until they receive the supplies necessary for their voyage back. 3. That in case the said troops should be unwilling to obey these orders, and should attempt to land, they are to be repulsed by force of arms, by all the military corps of the first and second line, and even by the people in mass. For this purpose all practicable means are to be resorted to. If necessary, the vessels are to be burnt, and the boats used for disembarkation burnt. 4. That if, notwithstanding all such efforts, troops should succeed in effecting a disembarkation in any port, or on any part of the coast of Brazil, the inhabitants, on finding that they cannot prevent the landing, shall retire into the heart of the country, carrying to the woods and mountains all the cattle and provisions, and whatever might be useful to the invaders; and the troops of the country, avoiding, on all occasions, general actions, shall carry on against them a sharp war of posts and guerillas, until they succeed in freeing themselves from such enemies. 5. That all civil and military authorities, to whom the duty belongs, are from this time forward bound, on their most rigid responsibility, to fortify all the ports of Brazil in which disembarkations may possibly be effected. 6. That if in any of the provinces of Brazil there should happen to be a deficiency of the ammunition and arms required for the fortifications, the authorities above referred to shall immediately make a representation to this government of what may be wanting, in order that the same shall be supplied; or shall give notice to the adjoining province, which shall be held bound to afford aid towards the fulfilment of such important duties. The civil and military authorities whose jurisdictions extend to the provisions of this decree, shall execute, and cause the same to be executed, with the greatest zeal, energy, and expedition, under the responsibility of rendering themselves guilty of high treason if they neglect so to fulfil it. Palace of Rio de Janeiro, THE PRINCE REGENT (Countersigned) LUIZ PEREIRA DA NOBREGA DE SOUZA COUTINHO 110. ADDRESS OF THE GENERAL EXTRAORDINARY AND CONSTITUENT CÔRTES OF THE PORTUGUESE NATION TO THE PEOPLE OF BRAZIL, ON THE NEW CONSTITUTION OF THE MONARCHY [Lisbon, August 17, 1822. British and Foreign State Papers, IX, 807–811. Published by the British Foreign Office.] The action of the Côrtes came too late and was not of a nature that could have conciliated the Brazilians. The movement for independence had already begun to take definite form, and little hope was entertained for a continued union with Portugal. On September 7, 1822, on the banks of the Ypiranga, - a stream a short distance from the city of São Paulo, the prince regent declared in favor of complete independence. On October 12 of the same year he was solemnly crowned in the Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro "Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil." Independence from the mother country had thus been achieved without bloodshed, a fact of which the Brazilian people are justly proud. To establish and to consolidate the Monarchy in both Hemispheres, is the constant object of the Cortes, and the ardent desire of all good Portuguese. To strengthen, by indissoluble ties, the union of two brotherly Nations, though separated by so great a space, is the difficult problem, which can only be solved by means of a thorough conviction, and a frank declaration, of what our circumstances loudly require. Let us not, therefore, spend in useless disputes and reciprocal recriminations, that time which we ought to employ in maintaining the integrity of so vast an Empire, whose greatness and solidity depend upon a well adjusted and permanent Union. Brazilians! Your European Brethren do not oppose, nor do even the Cortes deny, the natural right which belongs to you, to constitute yourselves Independent, and to select the system of Government which is most agreeable to you; this the Cortes expressly recognized, when they proposed to you the Fundamental Law, as the basis of the Constitution, in order that you might declare whether you wished to form with us, under its conditions, the same Society, and the same Empire. If, in consequence of time and distance, your Representatives could not co-operate in the framing of this Law, you, nevertheless, have since adopted it; you have sworn to it, and the voices of all the Political Assemblies in Brazil re-echoed in the Halls of this Building, amidst the greatest applause and the liveliest enthusiasm. It was then notorious to the whole World, that, far from adopting an unconditional submission, you had recognized and sworn to the basis of the Constitution of the Portuguese Monarchy, and had proclaimed your Union with Portugal, in the most solemn and spontaneous manner, and that under the political system, and the conditions of Government, therein determined. The essential principles of our original Political Charter have not been altered by the Constitution; they have only been better developed and expounded. They consist, generally speaking, of the division of the Political Powers; - one single Chamber of Representatives, with Legislative Power, assembling once in each Year; an inviolable King, with responsible Ministers; the Liberty of the Press; the Right of Petition. These are the first guarantees of the Political and Civil Liberty of the People of Portugal and of the People of Brazil; a liberty, Brazilians, which is one and the same, as well for you, as for your European Brethren, since it is equally valuable and efficacious to both; nor does the Constitution allow to one what it refuses to the other; those who tell you to the contrary, wish only to gratify ambitious passions, by alienating your minds, in order to compromise your security, and to draw down upon you all the horrors of anarchy and Civil War; they are evil disposed Persons, who stigmatize every species of authority, for the purpose solely of ascending to the summit of power and wealth, without regarding the mischief and desolation they may occasion. Let, therefore, all illusion, which may yet possess some minds, disappear at once. Brazilians! When the Cortes displayed to your sight the Standard of Liberty, and invited you to rally with them under it, they certainly did not contemplate the retaining you in the abject state of Colonial dependence; when they offered to you the same Constitution, the same liberty and the same guarantees, it certainly was not for the purpose of making you Slaves. It would indeed be a singular mode of reducing to a colonial condition, and of enslaving a People, by recognizing the rights, of which they had been deprived, and the privileges which they had never fully enjoyed. As if Civil and Political Liberty were some abstract speculation, beyond the reach of ordinary understandings, a Faction of disorganizers have endeavoured to persuade you, that it would be inconsistent with that liberty, to continue the Provincial Juntas, although they have been established by the Elections of the People; to abolish the Tribunals, which are notoriously useless and a heavy charge; to withdraw from America the Heir of the Crown, when political reasons called him to the foot of the Throne, and when you had manifested an unwillingness to obey him. This Faction of ambitious men, enemies of the publick tranquillity, have advanced, and have circulated in the South of Brazil, such ill-founded pretexts; they at first alleged, that the Cortes had no power to legislate for Brazil; they afterwards alleged that there was injustice in their Legislative measures; and they have, at last, declared their formal disobedience and meditate revolt; whereas the Legislative Authority of the Cortes had its basis in the will of the People, who have adopted, sworn to, and recognized that authority; the justice of the Legislation was founded, both in the nature of things, and in the will of the same People, which had been previously and expressly declared; — and, finally, partial resistance has become the very crime of Rebellion, which is always the forerunner of anarchy, and ought to be punished in every well organized Society. The Cortes, being aware that this revolt is merely the work of a few Individuals who have signed a certain Document, have decreed that these Rebels shall be prosecuted. The Cortes respect the general will of all Brazil, and they know that the general will of a People is the vehicle and organ of all prudent Legislation; but they know, at the same time, that the general will of all Brazil is to adopt, under the same conditions, the same system of Government, uniting itself to Portugal by an indissoluble tie, and they also know, that these disorganizing attempts at partial resistance are merely the ramification of the Factions of the South. In order to prevent the consequences of these and other turbulent proceedings, obnoxious to liberty and contrary to the general opinion of the People of Brazil, the Cortes have determined, that the Executive shall be authorized to send Troops to that Continent. A new pretext for the Factions! — but as groundless as their former pretexts. This measure, in the terms in which the Cortes have adopted it, (who of you, Brazilians, does not perceive) is calculated to serve the purpose of suppressing dangerous Parties, but is certainly inadequate to make conquests or to maintain tyranny; this consideration alone is sufficient to free it from every appearance of hostility. The Cortes, however, having taken into consideration the degree to which the prejudice between the Europeans and Natives has been carried in Brazil, and how much is to be apprehended from the excesses of a popular frenzy, which the Troops of the Country might not be able to restrain, have deemed it necessary to protect the real and personal property of a great number of Citizens. How could so |