LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating 189 years of the Independence of
Brazil on September 7, 2011

WHEREAS, Brazil became a Portuguese colony in 1500 with the establish-
ment of their first settlement, Sao Vicente; and
WHEREAS, Brazil was ruled from Lisbon for the next 300 years as a very
fruitful colony: rich in lumber, minerals, gold, gemstones; all making
Portugal very wealthy at the hands of indigenous people and imported
slaves from Africa; and
WHEREAS, In 1808, Dom Joao VI and the Portuguese royal family fled
from Napoleon and established the seat of government in Rio de Janeiro;
and
WHEREAS, After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Dom Joao VI thought it
best to establish Brazil as a kingdom similar to Portugal and worked the
next several years toward that cause; and
WHEREAS, Portugal strongly disagreed with Brazilian sovereignty and
Dom Joao's staying in Brazil, and sent an army to stabilize Brazil and
return Dom Joao to Portugal; Dom Joao returned to Portugal leaving his
23 year old son, Pedro, to preside over Brazil; and
WHEREAS, Pedro, now known as Dom Pedro, continued his father's vision
to bring about an autonomous Brazil, similar to what was happening in
nearly every other Latin American territory during that era; and
WHEREAS, In Rio de Janeiro on September 7, 1822, Dom Pedro received a
letter from Portugal saying that all power given to him had been
annulled and that Portugal intended to enslave all of Brazil; and
WHEREAS, Pedro turned to his companions and spoke: "Friends, the
Portuguese Cortes want to enslave and pursue us. From today on our
relations are broken. No ties unite us anymore" and continued after he
pulled out his blue-white armband that symbolized Portugal: "Armbands
off, soldiers. Hail to the independence, to freedom and to the sepa-
ration of Brazil"; and
WHEREAS, When arriving in the city of Sao Paolo on the night of
September 7, 1822, Pedro and his fellow companions had spread the notice
of the Brazilian independence from Portugal; and
WHEREAS, The Portuguese quickly gave in to the idea of a Brazilian
empire; without a single shot being fired, Dom Pedro I became the first
emperor of an independent Brazil; and
WHEREAS, The United States was the first country to recognize Brazili-
an independence in 1822; and
WHEREAS, International recognition of Brazil's independence came about
on August 29, 1825, when a treaty was signed between Britain and Portu-
gal; and
WHEREAS, Many Brazilians have made New York their home, and this
Legislative Body is justly proud to thank the Brazilian people for their
contributions to this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate 189 years of the Independence of Brazil on September 7,
2011.