Brazil? In my British Empire? More likely than you'd think!
The Imperial Federation
The world's firstmost power and the leading nation in both social and technological progress as well as in economic prosperity
This nation is, of course, made of made other great nations
In a reality so defined by it's culture, a combination of their variety of cultures, it's hard to imagine things could ever have been another way
The thing is, it's existence was hardly inevitable, in fact being brought to being by a very specific and unexpected chain of events set by one man whom it owes it's rise to, albeit completely unintentionally
The French Emperor - Napoleon Bonaparte
Today the go-to choice by the french for the greatest leader the country ever possessed, only rivalled by his inspiration Charlemagne, the Emperor had found himself in a tough spot when he came to power
His rule was challenged by the might of multiple coalitions by european powers who did not recognise yet desired to challenge his rule and among them was their most enthusiastic member and culprit - Great Britain
For this reason a form of retaliate and drive the United Kingdom out of continental affairs was considered of utmost importance for Napoleon's continued governance and the survival of the French Revolution
Among these methods a amphibian invasion was first considered, but put temporarily on hold as in Bonaparte's opinion the french navy simply wasnt yet ready for such a undertaking and instead he would rather solve the issue by employing a less bloody approach - economic coercion
The rationale being that even if the british didnt give up even in face of bankrupcy theyd have no money and resources to finance more campaigns against France and to fund their navy, making a naval invasion possible should it come to that
Thus the Continental System was born with it's aim to bring Britain to it's knees
However while some countries still secretely and not so secretly continued to trade with the british, one stood out more than most for defying the Emperor's decree
That was the nation of Portugal, Britain's closest ally since the Treaty of Windsor where King John I of Portugal married Philippa of England and sealed the fate of their two countries together
Now though Portugal was led by another John, the Prince-Regent John of Braganza
A nervous, cunning and glutton monarch trying to play both the british and the french in order to keep his kingdom safe, yet it didnt work
In 1805 the Emperor of the French would begin his invasion of the Kingdom of Portugal to bring it under the heel of the Francosphere and soon both Queen Mary of Portugal would be declared unfit to rule due to her deteriorated mental condition and John's regency declared illegal as per his mother's forced abdication, with him soon being forced to follow suit making his son - Prince Michael - King of Portugal with his mother - Princess Joan-Charlotte Theresa - as the Queen-Regent under the french grip
Why had not John's firstborn son, Peter, inherited the throne?
Simple, cunning
His father had foreseen this turn of events and, while complete evacuation of the portuguese court was deemed impossible before Napoleon could reach Lisbon, Prince Peter was quickly and secretely smuggled away from Portugal and sent away to England with the rationale that should either side decide to get rid of his family like it had happened to the french royal line his line would still survive elsewhere with a member of it staying on the victor's side regardless of who won
This move however did not endear him any more to his wife who already hated her arranged mariage and her "foolish buffon" of a husband, becoming a very enthusiastic support of french rule in spite of her disdain for their revolutionary ideals and serving loyally as France's client ruler
It was due to this and many long, private sessions the Queen had with the French Emperor where they allegedly discussed the state of his Empire and the role that Iberia would play within it that later, during the Spanish Succession Crisis, Charlotte would be placed on the spanish throne and declared Queen of Spain and Portugal serving as Napoleon's iberian partner for the years to come within a newly ressurrected Iberian Union - ironically the very thing the Braganzas rose up to destroy
Great Britain did not take this passively however, immediately declaring Prince Peter as the rightful King of Portugal, being married to King George the Third's granddaughter Princess Charlotte Augusta who was then proclaimed Queen of Portugal
The british would also attempt to cut off trade between the Iberian Peninsula and their colonies, putting a heavy stress on the Royal Navy who had little success in bringing the spanish colonies onboard as the land-owning elites had little issue with the dynastic change in the metropolis as long they were left to their own devices and many of them already spoke french to begin with which led to the Franco-Spanish alliance being seen as a source of opportunity and thus very positively
Plus the fact the porteños were put in their place was also a nice prospect, in contrast to the damned british bombing their cargos and trying to compel them to commit treason against the Crown
On the other hand the opposite was true in Brazil and the other portuguese colonies, where the prospect of another Iberian Union(even if a portuguese led one) was seen with dread and the idea of being put under a spaniard's rule, one known for being both a woman and one who loathed everything that had to do with Portugal proper and even more so it's colonies while also being so welcoming of french domination was seen with pure hatred
Yes, there existed a francophile element in the colonial portuguese society too, but it was superceded by both anglophilia and disdain for their "castillian" rivals
As such, nominal loyalty to Prince-sorry, King Peter and self-rule as consequence of sharing the same enemy as Great Britain in the form of the Spanish Empire(and the french too I guess) was welcomed
This doesnt mean there werent any polemics with such a move, as it was well known by the fervently catholic portuguese that Britain was a protestant country, but few in Brazil or elsewhere in the Portuguese Empire could tell the difference between a anglican and a catholic other than their stance on the Pope(which the elites also cared little about), and the british were pragmatic enough to allow Peter to continue practicing Catholicism in his asylum further endearing them to the colonials as well as confering a image of piety to the exiled price
This - as it would turn out - would become a key factor in Britain's national survival when the French Navy was considered ready and Napoleon Bonaparte decided it was time to invade the british isles in what would be known as the "Insular War", or as less fondly described by the Emperor - "The British Ulcer"
Panicking, as the Royal Navy was already overwhelmed with it's american affairs and the french armies came ever so close to London, the british court would decide that the only way for the nation to survive was for them - much like Prince Peter - to flee the island
However right as the rushed preparations had been made, even worse news came to the King's ears
Canada had been invaded
The United States, the same rebellious former colony who started all the recent british troubles had now decided, seeing the United Kingdom's weakness, to conquer the rest of British America
While letting this happen was unacceptable and the canadians would continue to fight hard for their independence as a british subject against the recently independent british colony wanting to bring them under their control(the level of irony here reaching far beyond the threshold), ultimately managing to expel the americans with support of their british brethren, the Royal Family could not risk fleeing to Canada while it was being invaded by the United States as the chances of either the ships containing the Court being captured or British America falling soon after they got there was too much to bear
Therefore - with a heavy heart - King George did the unimaginable
Great Britain
was
Coming to Brazil
was
Coming to Brazil
