Editing John VI of Portugal (section)

== Legacy ==
[[File:Alegoria às virtudes do Príncipe Regente D. João - Domingos Sequeira, 1810.png|thumb|upright=1.2|''Allegory of the virtues of Prince Regent João'' by [[Domingos Sequeira]], 1810]]
In the course of his few years living in Brazil, John ordered the creation of a series of institutions, projects and services that brought the country immense economic, administrative, juridical, scientific, cultural, artistic and other benefits, although not all went successfully, and some were downright dysfunctional or unnecessary, as Hipólito José da Costa mordantly observed.<ref name="Lima, cap. XVIII">[http://www.consciencia.org/administracao-e-justica.os-interesses-agricolas-e-industriais-d.joao-vi-no-brasil-oliveira-lima ''Apud'' Lima, Oliveira. Chapter XVIII] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618164715/http://www.consciencia.org/administracao-e-justica.os-interesses-agricolas-e-industriais-d.joao-vi-no-brasil-oliveira-lima |date=18 June 2013 }}. In Portuguese.</ref> Among these, he was responsible for establishing the Imprensa Régia (the country's first publishing house), the [[Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden]]<ref name="Fernandes & Fernandes Junior, p. 39">Fernandes & Fernandes Junior, p. 39</ref> the [[Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro|Arsenal de Marinha]], the Fábrica de Pólvora (gunpowder factory),<ref name="Correios"/> Rio's fire department, Brazil's merchant marine, and the charity hospital known as the Casa dos Expostos.<ref name="Mariz"/> He also established various educational programs in Rio, Pernambuco, Bahia and other places, teaching such subjects as dogmatic and moral theology, [[integral calculus]], mechanics, [[hydrodynamics]], [[chemistry]], [[arithmetic]], geometry, [[French language|French]], [[English language|English]], [[botany]] and agriculture, among others. He instigated the foundation of various societies and academies for scientific, literary and artistic studies, such as the Junta Vacínica (administering the [[smallpox vaccine]]), the Royal Bahiense Society of Men of Letters, the Academic Institute of Sciences and Fine Arts, the Fluminense Academy of Sciences and Arts,<ref>Varela, Alex Gonçalves. ''Juro-lhe pela honra de bom vassalo e bom português: análise das memórias científicas de José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva (1780–1819)''. Annablume, 2006, pp. 75–77. In Portuguese.</ref> the Escola Anatômica, Cirúrgica e Médica do Rio de Janeiro,<ref>[http://www.dichistoriasaude.coc.fiocruz.br/iah/P/verbetes/escancimerj.htm ''Escola Anatômica, Cirúrgica e Médica do Rio de Janeiro''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323023854/http://www.dichistoriasaude.coc.fiocruz.br/iah/P/verbetes/escancimerj.htm |date=23 March 2013 }}. Dicionário Histórico-Biográfico das Ciências da Saúde no Brasil (1832–1930), Casa de Oswaldo Cruz / Fiocruz. In Portuguese.</ref> the Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Design,<ref name=":0">Caruso, Ernesto. "Ponta do Calabouço – início do século XX: berço fardado dos doutores". In: ''Revista do Clube Militar'', ano LXXXI, n. 430, ago-set-out 2008, pp. 14–16. In Portuguese.</ref> the Academia dos Guardas-Marinhas, the Academia Militar,<ref name="Correios"/> the [[National Library of Brazil]],<ref>[http://bib.cervantesvirtual.com/portal/fbn/presentacion.shtml ''Apresentação'']. Fundação Biblioteca Nacional</ref> the Royal Museum (now [[National Museum of Brazil]]),<ref>[http://www.dichistoriasaude.coc.fiocruz.br/iah/P/verbetes/musnac.htm ''Museu Real''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211172310/http://www.dichistoriasaude.coc.fiocruz.br/iah/P/verbetes/musnac.htm |date=11 February 2012 }}. Dicionário Histórico-Biográfico das Ciências da Saúde no Brasil (1832–1930), Casa de Oswaldo Cruz / Fiocruz. In Portuguese.</ref> the Teatro Real de São João (now [[Teatro João Caetano]]), as well as recruiting internationally famous soloists and patronizing other musicians of the Royal Chapel, including Father [[José Maurício Nunes Garcia|José Maurício]], the leading Brazilian composer of his time,<ref name="Mariz">Mariz, Vasco. ''A música no Rio de Janeiro no tempo de D. João VI''. Casa da Palavra, 2008, p. 19. In Portuguese.</ref> supporting also the coming of the [[Missão Artística Francesa]], which resulted in the establishment of the [[Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e Ofícios]], predecessor of the present-day [[Escola Nacional de Belas Artes]] of the [[Federal University of Rio de Janeiro]], of fundamental importance the renewal of teaching and art production in Brazil.<ref>Schwarcz, Lilia Moritz. ''O sol do Brasil: Nicolas-Antoine Taunay e as desventuras dos artistas franceses na corte de d. João''. Companhia das Letras, 2008, pp. 176–188. In Portuguese.</ref>

John's policies led to far-reaching economic changes, beginning with the opening of the ports and the abolition of the Portuguese commercial monopolies, with the United Kingdom being the great beneficiary. On the one hand, traders based in Brazil had to face strong foreign competition; on the other, it encouraged the creation of new manufacturing and other economic activities that were previously banned, poor or nonexistent in Brazil. At the same time, he created such high-level administrative bodies as the War Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and the Ministry of Marine and Overseas; the Councils of State and of Finance, the Supreme Military Council, the Military Archive, the Bureaus of Justice and of Conscience and Orders, the Casa de Suplicação (Supreme Court), the Intendency General of Police, the first [[Bank of Brazil]]<ref name="Fernandes & Fernandes Junior, p. 39"/><ref name="Correios">[http://www.correios.com.br/selos/selos_postais/selos_2008/selos2008_05.cfm ''A Vinda de D.João e da Família Real Portuguesa para o Brasil''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503195616/http://www.correios.com.br/selos/selos_postais/selos_2008/selos2008_05.cfm |date= 3 May 2012 }}. Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos. In Portuguese.</ref> the Royal Board of Commerce, Agriculture, Factories and Navigation,<ref>Lopes, Walter de Mattos. ''A Real Junta do Commercio, Agricultura, Fabricas e Navegação deste Estado do Brazil e seus domínios ultramarinos: um tribunal de antigo regime na corte de Dom João (1808–1821)''. Dissertação de Mestrado. Universidade Federal Fluminense, 2009. In Portuguese.</ref> and the General Postal Administration,<ref name="Correios"/> as well as bringing Brazilians into administrative and staff positions, which helped diminish tensions between the natives and the Portuguese.<ref>Rocha, Antônio Penalves.  "Economia e Política no Período Joanino". In: Szmrecsanyi, Tamas & Lapa, José Roberto do Amaral. ''História Econômica da Independência e do Império'', EdUSP, 2002, pp. 42–43. In Portuguese.</ref> He also encouraged agricultural production, especially cotton, [[rice]] and [[sugar cane]], opened roads and encouraged the development of inland waterways, stimulating the movement of people, goods and products between regions.<ref>Martins, p. 33</ref>

===Controversies===
[[File:Dom joão vi - vários 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Portraits of John VI by various artists]]
According to Pedreira and Costa, few Portuguese monarchs have as large a place in the popular imagination as John VI. That image is very varied, "but rarely for good reason. ... It is not strange that the tribulations of his marriage and family life and the references to his personality and personal customs, would invite easy caricature and circulation of an unflattering, if not comic, tradition."<ref>''"ainda que raramente por boas razões. ... Não são estranhas as atribulações de sua vida conjugal e familiar e as referências à sua personalidade e aos seus costumes pessoais, convidando à caricatura fácil e à circulação de uma tradição pouco lisonjeira, quando não jocosa".'' Pedreira & Costa, o. 8.</ref> the King is popularly shown as indolent, silly and clumsy, subjugated by a shrewish wife, a disgusting glutton who always had baked chicken in his coat pockets to eat them at any time with greasy hands,<ref name="Loyola"/><ref name="Bastos">Loyola, Leandro. [http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,,EDG81368-5856,00.html "Não havia Brasil antes de Dom João"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703153631/http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,,EDG81368-5856,00.html |date=3 July 2013 }}. Entrevista com Lúcia Bastos. In: ''Revista Época''. Nº 506, 25 January 2008. In Portuguese.</ref> a version typified by the Brazilian film ''[[Carlota Joaquina – Princesa do Brasil]]'' (1995),<ref name="Loyola"/> a parody mixed with sharp social criticism. That work had enormous repercussions, but, according to the critical commentary of Ronaldo Vainfas, "it is a story full of errors of all types, misrepresentations, imprecisions, inventions";<ref>''"é uma história cheia de erros de todo tipo, deturpações, imprecisões, invenções"''</ref> for historian Luiz Carlos Villalta, "it constitutes a broad attack on historical knowledge",<ref>''"constitui um amplo ataque ao conhecimento histórico"''</ref> in contrast to director [[Carla Camurati]]'s stated intent "to produce a cinematic narrative that would constitute a type of historical novel with pedagogic function and, at the same time, would offer the viewer knowledge of the past and would help, as a people, to think about the present. It does not offer new historical knowledge to the viewer, even if one were to treat history as a novel: it reinforces, in truth, the ideas that the viewers bring, being zero in terms of increased knowledge... In this way, it leads the viewer more to debauchery than to critical reflection on the history of Brazil".<ref name="Villalta">''"produzir uma narrativa cinematográfica que constituísse uma espécie de romance histórico com funções pedagógicas e que, assim, oferecesse ao espectador um conhecimento do passado e o ajudasse, como povo, a pensar sobre o presente. ...não oferece conhecimento histórico novo ao espectador, nem que se considere que a mesma concebe a História como um Romance: ele reforça, na verdade, as idéias que os espectadores trazem, sendo nulo em termos de ampliação do conhecimento... Dessa forma, conduz-se o espectador mais ao deboche do que à reflexão crítica sobre a história do Brasil."'' Villalta, Luiz Carlos. ''"Carlota Joaquina, Princesa do Brazil": entre a história e a ficção, um "Romance" crítico do conhecimento histórico''. Departamento de História – UFMG, s/d. pp. 1–34. In Portuguese.</ref>

Diverse visual representations of John range from an overweight, oversized, sloppy appearance to a dignified and elegant character.<ref>Martins, p. 28</ref> As for historians' portrayals, researcher Ismênia de Lima Martins writes, "If there is agreement among all authors who relied on the testimony of those who knew him closely for his kindness and affability, all the rest is controversy. While some pointed to his countenance of a statesman, others considered him a coward and completely unprepared to govern. In any event, Dom João VI left his indelible mark on Portuguese-Brazilian history, a fact that resonates to the present, through a historiography that insists on judging the King, despite the transformations that discipline experienced over the course of the twentieth century".<ref>''"Se existe a concordância de todos os autores, que se basearam no depoimento daqueles que o conheceram de perto, quanto à sua bondade e afabilidade, todo o resto é controvérsia. Enquanto uns apontavam sua visão de estadista, outros consideravam-no inteiramente covarde e despreparado para governar. De qualquer maneira, Dom João VI marcou de forma indelével a história luso-brasileira, fato que repercute até o presente, através de uma historiografia que insiste em julgar o rei, desprezando as transformações contínuas que a disciplina experimentou ao longo do século XX".'' Martins, pp. 24–25</ref>

In governing, John always depended on strong auxiliaries. Prominent among these were [[Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho, 1st Count of Linhares]]; [[António de Araújo e Azevedo, 1st Count of Barca]]; and Tomás Antônio de Vila Nova Portugal. They may be considered the mentors of many of John's most important undertakings,<ref>Gomes, pp. 159–160</ref> but according to John Luccock: "The prince regent has been various times accused of apathy; to me, he seemed to have greater sensitivity and strength of character than was generally attributed to him by both friends and opponents. He was placed in new circumstances by which he was tested, bowing before them with patience; if incited, he acted with vigor and promptness".<ref>"o príncipe regente tem sido várias vezes acusado de apatia; a mim, pareceu-me ele possuir maior sensibilidade e energia de caráter do que em geral tanto amigos como adversários costumam atribuir-lhe. Achava-se colocado dentro de circunstâncias novas e próprias para pô-lo à prova, curvando-se ante elas com paciência; se incitado, agia com vigor e presteza." Martins, pp. 28–34. Martins was probably quoting an English-language statement in Portuguese, so here this has probably been doubly translated.</ref> He also praised King John's character, reaffirming his kindness and attention.<ref name="Martins, pp. 28–34"/> Oliveira Lima, with his classic ''Dom João VI no Brasil'' (1908), was one of the major figures responsible for the beginning of John's large-scale rehabilitation.<ref name="Bastos"/><ref>Melissa de Mello e. Souza, ''Brasil e Estados Unidos: a nação imaginada nas obras de Oliveira Lima e Jackson Turner''. Masters' thesis in Social History of Culture. Rio de Janeiro: PUC-RJ, April 2003, pp. 47–57</ref> He researched innumerable documents of the era without finding unfavorable descriptions of the King by Brazilians or by ambassadors and other diplomats accredited to the court. On the contrary, he found many accounts that painted him in favorable colors, such as the testimonies left by the British consul Henderson and the U.S. minister Sumter, who "greatly preferred to address himself directly to the monarch, always willing to do justice, than to confer with his ministers.... deeming him in this matter much more advanced than his courtiers".<ref>"preferiam muito dirigir-se diretamente ao monarca, sempre disposto a fazer justiça, a entender-se com seus ministros.... reputando-o em tal assunto muito mais adiantado do que os seus cortesãos". Martins, pp. 28–34.</ref> Diplomatic documents also confirm the breadth of his political vision, aiming to give Brazil an importance in the Americas comparable to the United States, adopting a discourse similar the U.S. doctrine of [[Manifest Destiny]]. He asserted his authority without violence, more in a persuasive and affable manner; his conduct of international affairs, although sometimes unsuccessful and somewhat given to [[imperialist]] ambitions, in many other ways was far-seeing and harmonious, as indicated by the many actions described above that improved the living conditions of the Brazilian colony.<ref name="Lima1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.consciencia.org/el-rei-d.joao-vi-no-brasil-oliveira-lima |title=Lima, Oliveira. cap. XXIV |access-date=13 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230164613/http://www.consciencia.org/el-rei-d.joao-vi-no-brasil-oliveira-lima |archive-date=30 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Martins, pp. 28–34">Martins, pp. 28–34</ref>

[[File:João VI - Rio de Janeiro - 20220924092324.jpg|thumb|Statue of King John VI in Rio de Janeiro's [[Praça Quinze de Novembro|XV de Novembro Square]].]]

Nonetheless, the French general [[Jean-Andoche Junot]] described John as "a weak man, suspicious of everyone and everything, jealous of his authority but incapable of making it respected. He is dominated by the fathers [that is, priests] and can act only under the duress of fear", and several Brazilian historians such as [[:pt:Pandiá Calógeras|João Pandiá Calógeras]], Tobias Monteiro and Luiz Norton draw him in comparably dark colors. Among the Portuguese, such as [[Joaquim Pedro de Oliveira Martins|Oliveira Martins]] and [[Raul Brandão]], he was invariably portrayed as a burlesque figure until the conservative resurgence of 1926, when he began to find defenders, such as Fortunato de Almeida, [[Alfredo Pimenta]] and Valentim Alexandre.<ref name="Bastos"/><ref>Gomes, pp. 153–155</ref><ref>Pedreira & Costa, pp. 21–29</ref> It is also certain that many were disaffected with him, that he raised taxes and aggravated the debt, multiplied titles and hereditary privilege, that he could not allay the vast array of internal dissensions or eliminate entrenched administrative corruption, and that he left Brazil on the brink of bankruptcy when he emptied the treasury to return to Portugal.<ref name="Loyola"/><ref name="Bastos"/><ref>Martins, pp. 8–34</ref>

Whatever the King's character may have been, the importance of his reign for a remarkable spurt of development for Brazil and, indeed, for the very unity of that nation is incontestable. [[Gilberto Freyre]] affirms that "Dom John VI was one of the personalities who had the greatest influence over the formation of the nation.... he was an ideal mediator.... between tradition – which he incarnated – and innovation – which he welcomed and promoted – during that decisive period for the Brazilian future".<ref>''"Dom João VI foi uma das personalidades que mais influíram sobre a formação nacional.... foi um mediador ideal.... entre a tradição – que encarnou – e a inovação – que acolheu e promoveu – naquele período decisivo para o futuro brasileiro." op. cit.'', Souza, p. 54</ref> As [[Laurentino Gomes]] puts it, "no other period of Brazilian history testifies to such profound decisive and rapid changes as the thirteen years in which the Portuguese court lived in Rio de Janeiro". Scholars such as Oliveira Lima, Maria Odila da Silva Dias, Roderick Barman and the aforementioned Laurentino believe that had John not come to the Americas and installed a strong central government, the large territory of Brazil, with important regional differences, would probably have fragmented into several distinct nations, as occurred with the vast neighboring Spanish colony. This opinion was shared by the British admiral [[Sidney Smith (Royal Navy officer)|Sir Sidney Smith]], who served as commander of the squadron that escorted the Portuguese royal court as they fled to Brazil.<ref name="Loyola"/><ref>''"nenhum outro período da história brasileira testemunhou mudanças tão profundas, decisivas e aceleradas quanto os treze anos em que a corte portuguesa morou no Rio de Janeiro". '' Gomes, pp. 288–295</ref>
[[File:Jardim_do_prédio_da_Reitoria_da_UFRJ_(1).jpg|thumb|left|[[:pt:Museu Dom João VI|King John VI Museum]], a museum of art and history in Brazil.]]
Recent biographies try to separate fact from legend and counter the folklore of ridicule that had formed around King John and which lacks documentary basis.<ref name="Loyola"/> Lúcia Bastos warns that even today we need to be careful to place certain matters in their historical context, such as the question of corruption, noting that although there were enormous costs and clear abuses, at that time there was no clear separation between the public treasury and the monarch's private accounts, and in the logic of the Old Regime "the King is the owner of the state... of which the distribution of spoils forms part: the King is the dispenser of justice and spoils".<ref name="Bastos"/> Before dying on [[Saint Helena]], John's most powerful enemy, Napoleon, said of him: "He was the only one who deceived me."<ref>Miguez, Sérgio. [http://www.revistadacultura.com.br:8090/revista/rc06/index2.asp?page=historia "O DNA do Brasil"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120122226/http://www.revistadacultura.com.br:8090/revista/rc06/index2.asp?page=historia |date=20 November 2012 }}. In: ''Revista da Cultura'', nº 6, January 2007</ref> [[José Joaquim Carneiro de Campos, Marquis of Caravelas|José Joaquim Carneiro de Campos]], the Marquis of Caravelas, praised John in the Brazilian Senate on the occasion of the King's death, saying, "All of us who are here have many reasons to praise the memory of King John VI, we all ought to be grateful, for the benefits he gave us: he raised Brazil to a kingdom, provided well for all of us, treated us always with great affection, and all Brazilians are obligated to him."<ref>''"Nós todos que aqui estamos temos muitas razões para nos lembrarmos da memória de Dom João VI, todos lhe devemos ser gratos, pelos benefícios que nos fez: elevou o Brasil a reino, procurou por todos o seu bem, tratou-nos sempre com muito carinho e todos os brasileiros lhe são obrigados."'' [http://sociedadehistoricadesterrense.com/anakhros/?p=215 "D. João VI, O Clemente"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501054826/http://sociedadehistoricadesterrense.com/anakhros/?p=215 |date= 1 May 2015 }}. In: ''Diários Anacrônicos'', Sociedade Histórica Desterrense, 2011</ref>