The court that sailed to Brazil

The court sailed to Brazil and left its library on the quay.

The story

In November 1807 Napoleon's army was marching on Lisbon. Prince Regent John neither surrendered nor fought: he decided to move the entire court to Brazil. In two days at Belém, the queen, the ministers, the archives and the carriages were loaded onto ships. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people went with them, depending on the estimate. There was no wind, and the fleet waited on the river until 29 November. The next day General Junot marched into the city.

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Context

A decree moving the court to Rio de Janeiro came out at the end of November. Boarding began on the 27th, and in the rush a great deal was left ashore. The crates of the Royal Library, rebuilt after the fire of 1755, were forgotten at the port in the sun and rain. They only reached Rio in 1810–1811, in three shipments. Today those books are at the core of the National Library of Brazil. Queen Maria I had long been seriously ill. According to tradition, on the way to the quay she shouted at the coachman: "Not so fast, they'll think we're running away!" No document records the line; later authors repeat it. The fleet sailed under British escort. It reached Salvador in January 1808 and Rio in March. For thirteen years Rio de Janeiro was the capital of the Portuguese Empire: the only time a European monarchy was ruled from its own colony. John VI returned to Lisbon only in 1821.