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The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century nation that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pedro I and his son Dom Pedro II. On 7 September 1822, Pedro declared the independence of Brazil and, after waging a successful war against his father's kingdom, was acclaimed on 12 October as Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil. Despite his role in Brazilian independence, Pedro I became the king of Portugal in 1826. Unable to deal with both Brazilian and Portuguese affairs, Pedro I abdicated on 7 April 1831 and immediately departed for Europe to restore his daughter to her throne. Pedro I's successor was his five-year-old son, Pedro II. Once declared of age, Pedro II managed to bring peace and stability to the country, which eventually became an emerging international power. Pedro II personally had no desire to see the monarchy survive beyond his lifetime and made no effort to maintain support for the institution. Despite the lack of enthusiasm among most Brazilians for adopting a republican form of government, on 15 November 1889, after a 58-year reign, the Emperor was overthrown in a sudden coup d'état that had almost no support outside a clique of military leaders whose goal was the formation of a republic headed by a dictator. (more...)

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April 27: Independence Day in Sierra Leone (1961); Freedom Day in South Africa

• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British Army regulars defeated Patriot militias in the Battle of Ridgefield, galvanizing resistance in the Connecticut Colony.
• 1865 – An explosion destroyed the steamboat SS Sultana on the Mississippi River, killing an estimated 1,800 of the 2,400 passengers.
• 1992 – Betty Boothroyd became the first female Speaker of the British House of Commons.
• 1993 – Members of the Zambia national football team were killed in a plane crash off Libreville, Gabon, en route to Dakar, Senegal, to play a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Senegal.
• 2005 – The Airbus A380 (pictured), the largest passenger airliner in the world, made its maiden flight from Toulouse, France.

More anniversaries: April 26 – April 27 – April 28