Book

Gomes, Laurentino, 1956- author.

1808 : the flight of the emperor : how a weak prince, a mad queen, and the British navy tricked Napoleon and changed the new world / Laurentino Gomes : translated from the Portuguese by Andrew Nevins.

Guilford, Connecticut : Lyons Press, an imprint of Globe Pequot Press, [2013?]

xiv, 321 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Incapable of fending off Napoleon, Portugal's Prince Regent Joao ruling since 1799 in the stead of his demented mother bluffed France with promises of surrender while signing a secret agreement with Britain to secure safe passage to Brazil for Joao and his entire court, comprising up to 15,000 people. On November 29, 1807, the fleet set sail from Lisbon, leaving Portugal at the mercy of Napoleon. During the 13 years that Joao reigned in exile from Rio de Janeiro, Portugal lost one-sixth of its population half a million people due to emigration, starvation, or in battle. Meanwhile, "the idle, corrupt, and wasteful" royal court stayed financially afloat by levying taxes on Brazilians and granting titles in exchange for donations from wealthy colonists many of them slave traffickers.

Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 -- Relations with Latin Americans.

Peninsular War, 1807-1814 -- Portugal.

Monarchy -- Portugal -- History -- 19th century.

Portugal -- History -- Maria I, 1777-1816.

Portugal -- History -- John VI, 1816-1826.

Brazil -- History -- 1763-1822.

Nevins, Andrew, translator.

1808. English

Originally published in Portuguese under the title: 1808 : como uma rainha louca, um príncipe medroso e uma corte corrupta enganaram Napoleão e mudaram a história de Portugal e do Brasil. São Paulo : Editora Planeta do Brasil, 2007.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 296-309) and index.

Part I. The flight of the emperor -- Flight from Lisbon -- The era of deranged monarchs -- The plan -- The declining empire -- Departure -- The royal archivist -- The voyage -- Salvador -- The colony -- Tree Frog, the reporter -- A letter -- Part II. The rise of Brazil -- Rio de Janeiro -- Dom Joao -- Carlota Joaquina -- Hands in the coffers -- A new court -- Empress of the seas -- Transformation -- The chief of police -- Slavery -- The travelers -- Napoleon's downfall -- The Republic of Pernambuco -- Tropical Versailles -- Part III. The return of the monarch -- Portugal abandoned -- The return -- A new Brazil -- The conversion of Dos Santos Marrocos -- The secret.

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