1808: The Flight of the Emperor (39 page)

In the haste of departure, 60,000 books from the Royal Library
and the Church's silver were forgotten on the docks.
Embarque de D.
João,
Ministério das
Relações Exteriores, Rio de Janeiro

While preparations for the flight were made on the eve of
departure, the plan for the court's transfer to Brazil was an ancient one.
Embarque de D. João, príncipe regente de Portugal, para o Brasil, em 27 de
novembro de 1807,
painting by Nicolas Lowis Albert Delerive, 1807–1818,
Museu Nacional dos Coches, Lisbon

The allegory of Prince João's arrival in Rio de Janeiro: For the
first time, a European sovereign sets foot on American soil.
Alegoria da
chegada da família de D. João VI
by Domingos Antônio Sequeira, Coleção duque de Palmela,
Lisbon

João and Carlota Joaquina had a marriage of crisis, due to his
indecision and her conspiracies.
Retrato de
D. João VI e D. Carlota Joaquina
by Manuel Dias
de Oliveira, early 1800s, Museu Histórico Nacional, Rio de
Janeiro

Dom João: an ugly and insecure prince, who lived apart from his
wife and feared thunder and crabs.
Vista da Praça do
Palácio,
engraving by
Jean-Baptiste Debret from
Voyage pittoresque et historique au Brésil,
Paris, 1834–1839, Lucia M. Loeb /
Biblioteca Guita e José Mindlin

Palace Square in Rio de Janeiro, with the palace at the left.
Painter Johann Moritz Rugendas called it a “vast and irregular edifice, of the
worst type of architecture.”
Vista da
Praça do Palácio,
engraving by
Jean-Baptiste Debret from
Voyage
pittoresque et historique au Brésil,
Paris,
1834–1839, Lucia M. Loeb / Biblioteca Guita e José Mindlin

The hand-kissing ceremony, according to APDG. The corrupt and
wasteful court thrived on the exchange of favors.
Court day
at Rio,
engraving from
Sketches of
Portuguese Life Manners and Costume and Character
by APDG, London,
1826. Lucia M. Loeb / Biblioteca Guita e José Mindlin

Coaches and sedans transported the rich and the nobility. Only
commoners walked.
The Chege and Cadeira,
engraving from
Views and Costumes of the City and Neighbourhood of Rio de
Janeiro
by Henry Chamberlain, London, 1822, Lucia M. Loeb /
Biblioteca Guita e José Mindlin

A hammock with poles carried by slaves was a common means of
transport during longer voyages in the interior of the country.
The Rede or
Net,
engraving from
Views and
Costumes of the City and Neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro
by Henry
Chamberlain, London, 1822, Lucia M. Loeb / Biblioteca Guita e José
Mindlin

William Carr Beresford, the British governor of Portugal during
João's absence, his left eye blinded by a musket shot.
William Carr
Beresford,
Viscount
Beresford
by Sir William
Beechey, 1814–15, National Portrait Gallery, London

The infamous massacre of Spaniards resisting French troops
during the Peninsular War.
El 3 de mayo de 1808 en Madrid: los fusilamientos en la
montaña del Príncipe Pío
by Francisco de
Goya y Lucientes, 1814, Museo del Prado, Madrid