The Independence Day of Brazil (Portuguese: Dia da Independência, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈdʒi.ɐ dɐ ĩdepẽˈdẽsjɐ]), commonly called Sete de Setembro ([ˈsɛtʃi dʒi seˈtẽbɾu], 'Seven of September'), is a national holiday observed in Brazil on 7 September of every year. The date celebrates Brazil's Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves on 7 September 1822.
In 1808, French troops commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Portugal as a retaliation for the Iberian country's refusal to participate in the trade embargo against the United Kingdom. Fleeing persecution, the Portuguese monarchs transferred the Portuguese Court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, then capital of Colonial Brazil. In 1815, prince regent John VI created the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, elevating Brazil to the rank of kingdom and increasing its administrative independence. Brazil, Portugal, and Great Britain were the three major contributors to the Independence of Brazil all three motivated by the circumstances peculiar to each. Brazil's Independence was ultimately won through diplomacy after three years of war against Portugal.
A political revolution erupted in Portugal in 1820, forcing the royal family to return. John VI's heir, Pedro, Prince of Brazil, remained in Brazil. In 1821, the Portuguese Assembly demanded Brazil to return to its former condition of colony and the return of the heir prince to Portugal. Pedro, influenced by the Rio de Janeiro Senate (Senado da Câmara) refused to return on 9 January 1822, a date which became known as Dia do Fico (I'll Stay Day).
On 2 September 1822, a new decree with Lisbon's demands arrived in Rio de Janeiro, while Prince Pedro was in São Paulo. Princess Maria Leopoldina, acting as Princess Regent, met with the Council of Ministers and decided to send her husband a letter advising him to proclaim Brazil's independence. The letter reached Prince Pedro on 7 September 1822. That same day, in a famous scene at the shore of the Ipiranga River, he declared the country's independence, ending 322 years of colonial dominance of Portugal over Brazil. On the day of Prince Pedro's proclamation he was declaring a fact for the foundations of a new state had already been laid. According to journalist Laurentino Gomes, who wrote a book about the event, Prince Pedro "could not wait for his arrival to São Paulo to announce the decision". Gomes adds that "he was a reckless man in his decisions but he had the profile of leader that Brazil needed at the time, because there was no time to think".
Federal law N° 662, issued on 4 April 1949, made Independence Day a paid federal holiday.
Federal law N° 5.571, issued on 28 November 1969, established the protocol for the Independence Day celebration.
Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays and military parades in most Brazilian cities.
In Brasília, the national celebration takes place at the Ministries Esplanade with a civil-military parade in the presence of the President of Brazil, who is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Around 30,000 people attend the event each year, which costs about one million reais. Similar military and civil parades are held in all the state capitals, and in many major cities throughout the country.
The national commemorations are broadcast on cable channel TV NBR and public TV station TV Brasil. In 2016, in honor of that year's Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games, portions of that city's parade were aired on the channel. Until 1959 all national parades were held there as it was the former capital city. By 2017 TV NBR also began broadcasting snippets of the São Paulo parade, given that the city is the birthplace of the independent country.
In New York City, the Brazilian Day is produced by João de Matos and held annually to celebrate the Independence Day. The event takes place at 46th Street, near Times Square, in Manhattan. The Brazilian Day concert is the centerpiece of the event, featuring famous Brazilian musicians, such as Ivete Sangalo, Chitãozinho & Xororó, Skank, Sandy & Junior, Cláudia Leitte, and Banda Calypso. In 2008, the event drew a crowd of 1.5 million people, according to the New York City Police Department. The Brazilian television network Globo sponsors the event and airs it live to Brazil and over 115 countries through Globo International Network.
Similar events are held in Deerfield Beach, Florida, San Diego, Toronto, Los Angeles, and London, United Kingdom.
These events consist of a civil parade, concerts of Brazilian music and exhibitions of Brazilian dances and martial arts.
National Independence Day parade in Brasília
The national celebrations in the federal capital Brasília, held since 1960, are the biggest of all the parades held nationwide on this most important day for Brazilians. As already mentioned, the President of Brazil, in his/her constitutional mandate as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, is the chief guest for the parade held annually in the capital's Ministries Esplanade, part of the Monumental Axis, taking the salute of a more than 9,000 to 24,000 strong civil-military contingent made up of civilians and servicemen and women of the armed forces, military police, military firefighters and civil law enforcement agencies representing all the states and territories of the republic, with a mobile column of around 90-800 vehicles, a medium mounted column and a big air flypast column of around 80-140 aircraft from the armed forces and civil security units. It is usually held in the mid-morning and is a nationally televised event. In recent years starting in the late 2000s, the presidential grandstand is situated in front of the building of the Ministry of Defense along the avenue, as a remember of the constitutional mandate granted to the presidential office to oversee the Armed Forces and the reserve organizations. Right there, as well as on the stands along the north side of the avenue, alongside the general public and tourists visiting the capital on this special day (with a combined total of more than 31,000 spectators in recent years) the following dignitaries are also present:
General Board of the National Congress and the Bureaux of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, as well as select Deputies and Senators
Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and persons with ministerial status
Chairman of the Institutional Security Office of Brazil
Presidents and vice presidents (Chief justices and deputy chief justices) of the judicial courts established by law