Liberal Revolution of 1820
A military uprising in Porto, which spread peacefully to Lisbon and the rest of the country, demanded a constitution and the return of King John VI from Brazil; it opened the era of constitutional monarchy in Portugal.
- Date
- 24 August 1820exact date
- Place
- Portotoday: Porto, Portugal · Western and Central Europe
- Participants
- Kingdom of Portugal, John VI of Portugal
- Threads
- History of Portugal since the Battle of Aljubarrota
- Also known as
- Revolução Liberal; Revolution of Porto; Португальская революция 1820 года
With the king in Rio de Janeiro, Portugal after the Peninsular War was governed by a regency and in practice by the British marshal William Beresford, commander of its army. The opening of Brazil’s ports to foreign ships in 1808 and the treaty of 1810 that favoured British goods hit the merchants of Lisbon and Porto hard, and the execution of General Gomes Freire de Andrade and other conspirators in 1817 inflamed anti-British feeling. Inspired by the Spanish revolution of January 1820, army officers and liberal merchants in Porto rose on 24 August 1820 while Beresford was away in Brazil.
The elected Cortes drew up a constitution modelled on the Spanish one of 1812, adopted in 1822. John VI returned to Lisbon in 1821, leaving his son Pedro as regent of Brazil. The Cortes’ attempts to reduce Brazil to its old colonial status pushed it towards independence, and absolutist resistance led by Prince Miguel ended in the civil war of 1828–1834.
Connections
Causes and preconditions
- Transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil29 November 1807 – 8 March 1808 · Latin Americathe rebels demanded the return of the court, which had been in Rio de Janeiro since 1808
- Peninsular War2 May 1808 – 17 April 1814 · Western and Central Europeafter the French invasions Portugal was left under a regency and British military control
Consequences
- Independence of Brazil7 September 1822 · Latin Americathe Cortes’ attempt to restore colonial rule over Brazil drove it to independence
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 25 years of this event
Eastern Europe
- Battle of the Berezina14 (26) November 1812 – 17 (29) November 1812
- French invasion of Russia24 June – 14 December 1812
- Fire of Moscow (1812)2 (14) September 1812 – 6 (18) September 1812
- Battle of Borodino26 August (7 September) 1812
- First Russian circumnavigation26 July (7 August) 1803 – 7 (19) August 1806
+ 3 events
Balkans and Anatolia
- Treaty of Bucharest16 (28) May 1812
- First Serbian Uprising14 February 1804 – 7 October 1813
- Siege and capture of Corfu24 October (4 November) 1798 – 20 February (3 March) 1799
Middle East and Egypt
- Treaty of Gulistan12 (24) October 1813
- Muhammad Ali becomes ruler of EgyptMay 1805
- French invasion of Egypt and Syria19 May 1798 – 2 September 1801
- Battle of the Nile1–3 August 1798
- Battle of the Pyramids21 July 1798
Africa
- Death of Napoleon on Saint Helena5 May 1821
- Jihad of Usman dan Fodio21 February 1804 – 1808
- Battle of Blaauwberg and the capture of the Cape Colony8–18 January 1806
- Mungo Park’s first expedition to the Niger2 December 1795 – 10 June 1797
Central and Northern Asia
- Syrym Datuly’s uprising1783–1797
South Asia
- Battle of Assaye23 September 1803
- Ranjit Singh proclaimed Maharaja of the Punjab12 April 1801
- Fall of Seringapatam and death of Tipu Sultan5 April – 4 May 1799
East Asia
- Rezanov’s embassy to Japan26 September (8 October) 1804 – April 1805
- Catholic persecution of 1801 in Korea22 February – 10 December 1801
- White Lotus Rebellionbetween 1794 and 1796 – 1804
- Abdication of the Qianlong Emperor9 February 1796
Southeast Asia and Oceania
- Eruption of Mount Tambora5–11 April 1815
- British conquest of Java4 August – 18 September 1811
- Rum Rebellion26 January 1808
- Gia Long unifies Vietnam and founds the Nguyễn dynasty1 June 1802
North America
- Year Without a Summer1816
- War of 181218 June 1812 – 17 February 1815
- Founding of Fort RossMarch – 30 August (11 September) 1812
- Lewis and Clark Expedition14 May 1804 – 23 September 1806
- Louisiana Purchase30 April – 20 December 1803
Latin America
- Independence of Brazil7 September 1822
- Cry of Dolores16 September 1810
- Transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil29 November 1807 – 8 March 1808
- Balmis Expedition30 November 1803 – 14 August 1806
- Haitian Declaration of Independence1 January 1804
+ 1 event
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Liberal Revolution of 1820
- Wikipedia (Russian): Португальская революция (1820)
- Birmingham D. A Concise History of Portugal. — 2nd ed. — Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
- Wikidata: Q1822923