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 _______________________________ 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) _____________________ 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)