ABSTRACT
This chapter is specially dedicated to foreign readers unfamiliar with the Portuguese political history of the period. It presents a synthesis of the significance of the liberal revolution that took place in Portugal in 1820, following the end of the Napoleonic wars and the economic collapse of the Portuguese-Brazilian Empire. It explains the climate of dissatisfaction felt by the political, mercantile and military elites. Finally, this chapter discusses the specificity of the Portuguese revolution in the broader context of revolutions that paved the way for the contemporary era.
