Editing Dragoon (section)

=== Brazil ===
[[File:Pedro Américo - Independência ou Morte - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|Prince Regent [[Pedro I of Brazil|Pedro of Braganza]] (later Emperor of Brazil as Pedro I) declares the [[Independence of Brazil|Brazilian independence]] while surrounded by his guard of honour, which later became known as Independence Dragoons, 7 September 1822]]    
[[File:Lula Chirac Alvorada.JPG|thumb|The Independence Dragoons during the arrival ceremony of French president [[Jacques Chirac]] at the [[Palácio da Alvorada]] in [[Brasília]], 25 May 2006]]
The [[guard of honour]] for the [[President of Brazil]] includes the [[Independence Dragoons|1st Guard Cavalry Regiment]] of the [[Brazilian Army]], known as the ''"Dragões da Independência"'' (Independence Dragoons). The name was given in 1927 and refers to the fact that a detachment of dragoons escorted the [[Prince Royal of Portugal]] and Brazil, [[Pedro I of Brazil|Pedro of Braganza]], at the time when he [[Independence of Brazil|declared Brazilian independence]] from the [[United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves]] on 7 September 1822.

The Independence Dragoons wear 19th-century dress uniforms similar to those of the earlier Imperial Honor Guard, which are used as the regimental full dress uniform since 1927. The uniform was designed by [[Jean-Baptiste Debret|Debret]], in white and red, with plumed bronze helmets. The colors and pattern were influenced by the Austrian dragoons of the period, as the [[Maria Leopoldina of Austria|Brazilian Empress consort]] was also an [[Austrian Empire|Austrian archduchess]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Exército Brasileiro – Braço Forte, Mão Amiga |url=http://www.exercito.gov.br/VO/175/unifor.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312093820/http://www.exercito.gov.br/VO/175/unifor.htm |archive-date=12 March 2009 |language=pt}}</ref> The color of the plumes varies according to rank. The Independence Dragoons are armed with [[lance]]s and [[sabre]]s, the latter only for the officers and the colour guard.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=1 February 2014|url=http://www.presidencia.gov.br/estrutura_presidencia/gsi/cerimonial/principais_tropas/dragoes_independencia |title=Presidência da República – GSI |publisher=office of the president of Brazil |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621100028/http://www.presidencia.gov.br/estrutura_presidencia/gsi/cerimonial/principais_tropas/dragoes_independencia/ |archive-date=21 June 2008 |language=pt}}</ref>

The regiment was established in 1808 by the Prince Regent and future [[List of Portuguese monarchs|King of Portugal]], [[João VI of Portugal|John VI]], with the duty of protecting the Portuguese royal family, which had sought refuge in Brazil during the [[Napoleonic wars]]. However dragoons had existed in Portugal since at least the early 18th century and, in 1719, units of this type of cavalry were sent to Brazil, initially to escort shipments of gold and diamonds and to guard the [[Viceroy]] who resided in [[Rio de Janeiro]] (1st Cavalry Regiment – Vice-Roy Guard [[Squadron (cavalry)|Squadron]]). Later, they were also sent to the south to serve against the Spanish during frontier clashes. After the proclamation of the [[Independence of Brazil|Brazilian independence]], the title of the regiment was changed to that of the Imperial Honor Guard, with the role of protecting the [[Brazilian imperial family|Imperial Family]]. The Guard was later disbanded by [[Pedro II of Brazil|Emperor Pedro II]] and would be recreated only later in the republican era.<ref>CARVALHO, José Murilo de. D. Pedro II: Ser ou não ser. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2007, p. 98</ref>

At the time of the [[Proclamation of the Republic (Brazil)|Republic proclamation]] in 1889, horse No. 6 of the Imperial Honor Guard was ridden by the officer making the declaration of the end of Imperial rule, Second lieutenant Eduardo José Barbosa. This is commemorated by the custom under which the horse having this number is used only by the commander of the modern regiment.