The history of Portugal from 1777 to 1834 begins with the reign of
Maria I and ends with the Liberal Wars in 1834, spanning a complex
historic period in which several important political and military
events led to the end of the absolutist regime and to the installment
of a constitutional monarchy in the country. In 1807, Napoleon ordered
the invasion of Portugal and subsequently the Royal Family escaped to
Brazil. This would be one of the causes for the declaration of
Brazilian independence by Peter I of Brazil in 1823, following a
liberal revolution in Portugal. The liberal period was stormy and
short as Prince Michael of Portugal (Peter's brother) supported an
absolutist revolution that restored all power upon the monarch. Peter
would eventually return to Portugal and fight and defeat his brother
in the Liberal Wars in which liberalism was completely installed and
Portugal became a constitutional monarchy.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Portugal_%281777-1834%29
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1266:
King Manfred of Sicily was killed at the Battle of Benevento, fighting
Angevin forces led by Charles, the Count of Anjou.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_of_Sicily)
1815:
The Hundred Days: Napoléon Bonaparte escaped from exile in Elba.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France)
1935:
Adolf Hitler ordered the German air force Luftwaffe reinstated,
violating the Treaty of Versailles signed at the end of World War I.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftwaffe)
1935:
In Daventry, England, Robert Watson-Watt first demonstrated the use of
radar.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Watson-Watt)
1993:
World Trade Center bombing: A van rented by Ramzi Yousef exploded in
the underground garage of the World Trade Center in New York City,
killing six and injuring more than 1,000 people.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramzi_Yousef)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Sure, ninety percent of science fiction is crud. That's because
ninety percent of everything is crud." -- Theodore Sturgeon
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Theodore_Sturgeon)