After a while it became evident that Prince Pedro had gained more popularity than the King.  The conservative methods of Joao VI. were in the end responsible for protests on the part of the populace, and the King at length was obliged to give way, and to promise more liberal constitutions than he had endeavoured to uphold.  Dom Pedro swore in his father’s name to respect these constitutions, and his example was followed by his brother, Dom Miguel.  The enthusiasm which followed the concession was tumultuous, and the King himself found it necessary to come from his country seat, Boa Vista.

When he arrived at the capital his horses were taken from his carriage, and it was dragged to the palace by the people.  Fireworks and illuminations followed, and a gala performance at the opera for the succeeding night was ordered; but King Joao VI. was unable to attend.  The proceedings had really been adopted against the grain in his case, and thus, when the curtains in the royal box were drawn apart, it was seen to be occupied by the pictures of the King and Queen instead of by royalty in the flesh; but these pictures were received with the same enthusiasm and as hearty plaudits as though they had been royal humanity itself.

While all this was happening in Brazil, the French had been finally driven out from Portugal, and King Joao VI. determined to return once more to his native country.  On April 24 he sailed with the Royal Family, leaving his son, Dom Pedro, as Governor of Brazil.  Only a day or two before a disturbance had broken out in the capital.  When the electors assembled, they were wantonly attacked by the Portuguese soldiery, and about thirty of them were slain, the majority in cold blood.  The atrocity would have doubtlessly been more serious had not the popular Dom Pedro interfered.

With the departure of the King from Brazil it was inevitable that complications should ensue.  Having once enjoyed the status of a kingdom, and having been granted those privileges which had so benefited the country during the past few years, it was only natural that Brazil should resent any attempt to place her once again in the neglected situation from which she had been rescued.  It seemed, nevertheless, as though the policy of Portugal would now be directed towards this end.  It was at this juncture that the influence of Prince Pedro began to be felt.

Prince Pedro possessed a personality essentially capable of commanding; his talents, moreover, were varied.  He was a good horseman, a keen sportsman, and was addicted to music and many of the politer arts.  The part he had to play was undoubtedly a difficult one.  His sentiments were intensely Brazilian; at the same time, in the letters he wrote to the Court of Portugal he stated distinctly that the Mother Country alone possessed his loyalty, as was only just, and that he would make no move whatever that would prejudice the interests of Portugal.  He even went the length of lamenting his presence in the far-away land he governed, and swore that he longed for the day when he might return and sit upon the steps of his father’s throne.