Editing John VI of Portugal (section)

=== Reign ===
[[File:DomJoãoVIemPortugal.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|John disembarks in Lisbon]]
The ships bringing John and his court arrived in Lisbon on 3 July. His return was orchestrated in such a manner as not to imply that the King had been coerced, but in fact a new political environment had already been established.<ref name="Cronologia"/> A constitution had been drafted, and the King was required to swear loyalty to it on 1 October 1822. It called for him to surrender various prerogatives. The Queen refused to follow her husband in agreeing to this, and thus was dispossessed of her political rights and deposed of her title as queen. Meanwhile, John lost out in Brazil as well. His son Pedro, opting to stay in that country, led a revolt that proclaimed [[Independence of Brazil|Brazilian independence]] on 1822-09-07; as part of this action, he assumed the title of emperor of Brazil.<ref name="Dicionário"/><ref>Pedreira & Costa, p. 15</ref> Tradition says that before journeying to Portugal, John had anticipated future events and had said to his son: "Pedro, Brazil will soon be separated from Portugal: if so, put the crown on your head before some adventurer grabs it." According to the memoirs of the Count of Palmela, Brazilian independence had come about through common accord between King John and Prince Pedro. In any event, later correspondence between the two shows the prince's concern not to disturb his father.<ref>The quotation in Portuguese is ''"Pedro, o Brasil brevemente se separará de Portugal: se assim for, põe a coroa sobre tua cabeça, antes que algum aventureiro lance mão dela."'' Pascual, Antonio Diodoro. ''Rasgos memoraveis do Senhor Dom Pedro I, imperador do Brasil, excelso duque de Bragança''. Typ. Universal de Laemmert, 1862, p. 65. In Portuguese</ref> However, Portugal did not officially recognize Brazilian independence at this time.<ref name="Dicionário"/>
[[File:Retrato de D. João VI - Domingos Sequeira - 1821.jpg|thumb|left|Portrait by [[Domingos Sequeira|Sequeira]], 1821]]
The liberal constitution to which the King had sworn loyalty was in effect only for a few months. Not everyone in Portugal supported liberalism, and an absolutist movement arose. On 23 February 1823 in [[Trás-os-Montes]], [[Francisco Silveira, Count of Amarante]], proclaimed an absolute monarchy; this did not immediately have an effect, and new agitations followed. The King's younger son, Miguel, instigated by his mother Carlota Joaquina, led another revolt known as the [[Vilafrancada]] on 27 May, with the intent of restoring absolutism. John changed the game by supporting Miguel to avoid his own deposition (which was desired by Carlota Joaquina's party). He appeared in public on his birthday alongside his son, who wore a uniform of the National Guard, a military corps that had been disbanded by the liberals, receiving the applause of the militia. the King personally went to [[Vila Franca de Xira Municipality|Vila Franca]] to better administer the uprising, ultimately returning to Lisbon in triumph. The political climate was undecided, and even the staunchest defenders of liberalism feared to take a strong stand on its behalf. Before its dissolution, the Cortes protested against any change in the recently approved constitution, but the absolute regime was restored,<ref name="Dicionário"/><ref name="Cardoso"/> the Queen's rights re-established, and the King acclaimed for a second time on 5 June. John repressed demonstrations against this restoration, deported some of the liberals and arrested others, ordered the restoration of judiciary and institutions more in line with the new political orientation and created a commission to draft a basis for a new charter to replace the constitution.<ref name="Cardoso">Cardoso, António Barros. "Liberais e absolutistas no Porto (1823–1829)". In: Departamento de Ciências e Técnicas do Património / Departamento de História. ''Estudos em homenagem ao professor doutor José Marques''. Universidade do Porto, 2006, pp. 262–269. In Portuguese.</ref><ref>Pedreira & Costa, pp. 392–400</ref>

John's alliance with Infante Miguel did not bear fruit. Influenced as always by his mother, Miguel led the [[April Revolt]] or ''Abrilada'' by the Lisbon military garrison on 29 April 1824. The revolt started on the pretext of crushing the [[Freemasons]] and defending the King from threats of death that the Masons has supposedly made against him, but John was taken into custody at the [[Bemposta Palace]], while several of Miguel's political enemies were also imprisoned elsewhere. The infante's intent was to force his father to abdicate. Alerted to the situation, the diplomatic corps managed to enter Bemposta Palace. Those who held the King could not resist such authorities and restored a measure of freedom to the King. On 9 May, on the advice of friendly ambassadors, John pretended to travel to [[Caxias, Oeiras|Caxias]] but, in fact, went and sought refuge with a British fleet anchored in the port. From aboard the [[Royal Navy]] ship [[HMS Windsor Castle (1790)|''Windsor Castle'']], he reprimanded his son, deposed him from command of the army, and ordered him to release his political prisoners. Miguel was exiled. With the defeat of the rebellion, both liberals and absolutists came out into the streets to celebrate the survival of the legitimate government.<ref name="Dicionário"/><ref>Cardoso, pp. 269–271</ref> On 14 May, the King returned to Bemposta, reconstituted the council of ministers and showed generosity to the others who had rebelled. Still, this did not dissuade the Queen from further conspiracies. The police discovered another rebellion planned for 26 October, on the basis of which John placed his wife under house arrest in Queluz Palace.<ref name="Dicionário"/>