Dangerous liaisons: the Brazilian empire and the worldwide convulsions (1789-1807)

Abstract

In the late 17^th, the Portuguese-Brazilian empire has known a favourable cycle which helped reduce the political tensions and kept the system cohesive until the crown moved to Rio de Janeiro, in 1870. If some danger possibly menaces the State, it mainly follows from international pressures, from the social disorders all over the world brought up by the French Revolution. Its future will depend on the foreign policy and diplomatic history all over a long process of crisis culminating with the first French invasion and the crown departure to Brazil. In this paper, which is part of a more comprehensive work, the author analyses the process and proposes the reinterpretation of Portugal's foreign policy in the period between 1789 and 1807.