O day of stay it is the date carried out by the regent of Brazil, Prince Dom Pedro, who decides to go against the orders of the Portuguese Courts and remain in Brazil.
The event received this name because, at the time, D. Pedro uttered the phrase that would become famous:
"If it's for the good of all and the nation's general happiness, I'm ready. tell the people i stay."
This decision is made in January 9, 1822 and it is considered an important step towards Brazil's independence process.
Historical Context: Why D. Pedro decides to stay in Brazil?
The desire for Prince-Regent Dom Pedro to remain in Brazil begins with the fear that Portugal would withdraw from Brazil the rights acquired with the elevation of Brazil to the United Kingdom.
If this happened, Brazil would return to the status of a colony again and would lose the right to trade with other nations.
Thus, the idea arises among those who made up the Brazilian rural and political elite, of forming a "Kingdom of Brazil" independent of Portugal.
King Dom João VI seemed to foresee that this territory of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, could go through the same process as the Spanish colonies.
In this way, before returning to Portugal on account of Porto Liberal Revolution, left his son and heir in Brazil.
However, Dom Pedro himself considered the idea of moving away from the Portuguese court, either because of the influence of people like José Bonifácio, or for the support of his wife, Dona Leopoldina.
In December 1821, Dom Pedro was ordered to return to Portugal to finish his academic preparation.
The news hits with a bomb among Brazilians, above all, the Brazilian agrarian elite. This is because she wanted to preserve the commercial freedoms they had acquired after the arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family in Brazil in 1808.
This encouraged the rural aristocracy to ask for the permanence of D. Pedro in Brazil. For this reason, signatures were collected in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and São Paulo, asking Dom Pedro not to return to Portugal.
More than eight thousand signatures were presented by the president of the Senate, José Clemente Pereira, to Dom Pedro, who decided to remain in Brazil.
Therefore, on January 9, 1822, Dom Pedro, did not obey orders from the Portuguese Courts to immediately leave Brazil and return to Portugal.
On the balcony of the Royal Palace (which would become the Imperial Palace after independence), Dom Pedro communicated his decision to the watching crowd:
"If it's for the good of all and the nation's general happiness, I'm ready. tell the people i stay."
This episode would go down in history known as the "Day of Fico".
Eight months later, supported by the agrarian elites and the free population, D. Peter declares the Independence of Brazil.
Curiosities
- Portugal even sent troops to Brazil, captained by Lieutenant General Jorge Avilez, with the intention of regaining power over Brazil. However, the Prince Regent D. Pedro orders the withdrawal of troops, the military and his commanders are expelled from Brazil.
- A shorter version of the sentence "If for the good of all and the general happiness of the Nation, I say to the people that I will stay" has become a common quote in Brazil.
Also read about this subject:
- Dom João VI
- Empress Leopoldine
- Dom Pedro I
- Independence Day - September 7th
- Causes of Brazilian Independence
