This article provides a new interpretation of Brazil's independence that relates the process of political emancipation to the Portuguese empire's fiscal crisis at the beginning of the nineteenth century. We discuss the origins and impact of the fiscal crisis that followed the Napoleonic invasion of Portugal in 1807 and the transfer of the government to Rio de Janeiro. Quantitative evidence shows that expenditures with the palace and the army in Brazil were higher than those discussed in the previous literature. Moreover, the government was only able to finance itself by increasing loans via paper money issuances from the Bank of Brazil. Real wages show that the inflationary policy in the 1810s led to a rapid decline in living standards, fuelling dissatisfaction with the government. Our findings are consistent with views expressed in contemporary official correspondence and parliamentary debates.

中文翻译：

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再见，葡萄牙先生：财政危机、宪政革命和巴西独立（1808-22）

本文对巴西的独立提供了新的解释，将政治解放的进程与十九世纪初葡萄牙帝国的财政危机联系起来。我们讨论了 1807 年拿破仑入侵葡萄牙以及政府迁往里约热内卢后发生的财政危机的起源和影响。定量证据表明，巴西宫殿和军队的支出高于先前文献中讨论的支出。此外，政府只能通过巴西银行发行纸币增加贷款来为自己融资。实际工资显示，1810年代的通货膨胀政策导致生活水平迅速下降，加剧了对政府的不满。我们的研究结果与当代官方信函和议会辩论中表达的观点一致。