Happy Data Magna!

On this day in 1817 the Revolução Pernambucana began in, of course, Pernambuco. This year is the first time the state government has commemorated the date with a holiday. The revolution was a reaction against the permanent residency of the Portuguese royal family, specifically Dom João VI, in Rio de Janeiro. The economic elite of the Northeast gained nothing from the presence of the royal family in the Southeast, but suffered from the higher taxes imposed to maintain the court in Rio. At the same time, sugar and cotton exports (the main economic activity of the Northeast) fell due to competition from Jamaica (sugar) and the US (cotton). A drought in the Northeast exacerbated the economic problems of the region and inflamed revolutionary sentiments. Liberal ideas had been sweeping Brazil, and the revolution demanded Brazilian independence from Portugal and the proclamation of a Brazilian republic. The revolution gained support in Alagoas, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, and Ceará.

The revolutionaries installed a provisional government and a constitution that guaranteed freedom of expression and equal rights (although it apparently didn't free any slaves). The revolution lasted only two months. Portuguese troops from the Southeast joined with soldiers contributed by loyal plantation owners in the Northeast to suppress, violently, the revolution and imprison the leaders. The Revolução Pernambucana was the last attempt at independence before Pedro I declared Brazilian independence in 1822.