Happy (belated) Independence day Brazil.

I know I am a day late... but I just want to wish Brazil a Happy Independence day!

Brazil gained independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822, when Dom Pedro I, stood his ground against the rule of the portuguese king.

Here is a little bit from wikipedia about the event.

When King João VI finally returned to Portugal, in the early 1820s, most of the privileges that had been accorded to Brazil were rescinded, sparking the ire of local nationalists. Pedro, who had remained in the country as regent, sided with the nationalist element and even supported the Portuguese Constitutionalist movement that led to the revolt in Porto in 1820. When pressed by the Portuguese court to return, he refused. For that, he was demoted from regent to a mere representative of the Lisbon court in Brazil. This news reached him on 7 September 1822, when he had just arrived in São Paulo, from a visit to the port of Santos. On the banks of the Ipiranga River, he unsheathed his sword, removed the blue and white Portuguese shield from his coat, and declared "Independence or death!" This later became his famous speech O grito do Ipiranga (The Cry of Ipiranga). He was proclaimed Emperor of Brazil on 12 October his 24th birthday, and crowned on December 1.

There would still be a few years of battles before the portuguese finally surrendered , but this does go once again to show you how the actions of one man can change the lives of so many people.

Happy Independence day Brazil!