Kingdom of Portugal
After the Portuguese Restoration War of 1640–1668, the kingdom passed to the House of Braganza and thereafter to the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. From this time, the influence of Portugal declined, but it remained a major power due to its most valuable colony, Brazil. After the independence of Brazil, Portugal sought to establish itself in Africa, but was ultimately forced to yield to the British interests, leading to the collapse of the monarchy in the 5 October 1910 revolution and the establishment of the First Portuguese Republic.
Colonial Brazil
Due to the absence of the King and the economic independence of Brazil, Portugal entered a severe crisis that obliged João VI and the royal family to return to Portugal in 1821: a Liberal Revolution had broken out in Portugal in 1820, and the royal governors who ruled Portugal in the King's name had been replaced by a revolutionary Council of Regency formed to govern the European portion of the kingdom until the King's return. Indeed, the King's immediate return to Lisbon was one of the main demands of the Revolution. Under the revolutionary Council of Regency, a constituent assembly, known as the Portuguese Constitutional Courts ("Cortes Constitucionais Portuguesas"), was elected to abolish the absolute monarchy and replace it with a constitutional one. King João VI, then, yielding to pressure, returned to Europe. Brazilian representatives were elected to join the deliberations of the Constitutional "Cortes" of the kingdom.