Name ________________ Date ______ Per ____ Leaders New World Revolution

Guiding Question: Do the leaders or the people shape a revolution?

Individual jobs: Read through the biography of your leader and write down the answer
for your specific question(s) in the space provided.

Person 1: How did Dom Pedro I come to power and shape the revolution?

Person 2: How did Dom Pedro II shape the revolution? What was the response of the
rich Brazilians when he tried to do this?

Person 3: Describe 4-5 major events in the Brazilian Revolution.

Person 4: In your opinion, who was more important in shaping the South American
Revolution: the leaders or the people?

Person 5: What problems did Brazil face after independence? How did these create
modern problems today?

TASK 2:
• When you are done with your individual roles, decide the order of who is presenting which
information
• Complete the graphic organizer as a group what is most important to represent in a 5-10
minute presentation to the class
 Brazil: Independence
Without a Revolution

Source:
http://www.biography.com/articles
/ Pedro-I-9436210,

Dom Pedro I of Brazil Dom Pedro II of Brazil

The revolution in Brazil was really no revolution at all. It all started with
Napoleon’s invasion of Spain. Concerned that Napoleon would advance on Portugal,
the King fled to Brazil with his family and moved the capital to Rio de Janerio.
Brazilians enjoyed this elevated status as they were being treated as equal to native
Portuguese for the first time.
However, when Napoleon was defeated, the royal family wanted to return to
Portugal. The rich Brazilians were concerned this would eliminate the favored lifestyle
they were enjoying as the capital, so they asked the King’s son, Dom Pedro I, to stay
behind and lead an independent Brazil. Dom Pedro agreed. The independent nation of
Brazil was born.
The Brazilian elite prepared a liberal constitution, which Dom Pedro I rejected.
He dissolved the Brazilian assembly that had put in power and exiled the radical
reformer Jose Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva. Concerned that complete rejection of any
reform would lead to his people revolting, Pedro accepted a somewhat less liberal
constitution drafted by the Council of State on March 25, 1824. This constitution
established a limited monarchy and freedom of the press but kept slavery and race
qualifications for property ownership.
Although adoption of that charter may have saved Dom Pedro I from being
removed from power, it did not reestablish his popularity. His dictatorial manner, his lack
of enthusiasm for sharing power, and his continuing deep interest in Portuguese affairs
antagonized his subjects, as did the failure of his military forces in a war with Argentina
over what is now Uruguay. Strong opposition in the Brazilian Parliament and a series of
local uprisings forced him to leave in 1831 in favor of his son Dom Pedro II, who was
then five years old. Pedro I then returned to Portugal.
When Pedro the II was old enough to rule, he was much more liberal than his
father. He tried to abolish slavery. This, however, lead to his downfall. The rich
Brazilians liked slavery and how it kept them rich; so they forced Dom Pedro to return to
Portugal as well.
The new government set up after Dom Pedro II was little more than a military
dictatorship ruled by the rich elite. The army dominated affairs both at Rio de Janeiro
and in the states. Freedom of the press disappeared and elections were controlled by
those in power. The elite who had staged this coup d’etat continued to make policies
that favored the rich. From this point, the people of Brazil inherited a legacy of weak
governments led by dictators and a huge gap between the rich and poor.